Digital payments in Hong Kong grew significantly. In 2024, the use of digital payments for online transactions rose 9 percentage points year-over-year (YoY), according to Forrester’s 2023 and 2024 Consumer Asia Pacific Surveys.

This marks the second-highest YoY growth in payment methods within the city, surpassed only by bank transfers, which surged 15 percentage points during the same period.

Forrester’s research, which surveyed more than 800 adults in Hong Kong in 2024, revealed that 53% of respondents had used digital payments in the preceding three months. This adoption rate position digital payments as the second most popular payment method in the city.

Convenience Fuels Digital Payments Growth in Hong Kong

Digital payments are increasingly becoming a preferred choice in Hong Kong, favored for their ease of use. Nearly half (44%) of users cited convenience as their main reason for choosing digital payments.

Incentives also play a crucial role, with 35% of respondents citing points and rewards as a key motivator. This finding reflects Hong Kong’s competitive and diverse payment environment, where digital payment brands strategically use incentives to attract customers and increase their market presence.

While digital payments continued to gain traction in 2024, credit cards remained the leading payment method, with 69% of respondents using them in the prior three months.

However, YoY growth was more modest, increasing by only 6 percentage points. Bank transfers, on the other hand, experienced the most substantial growth, climbing from a usage rate of 33% in 2023 to 48% in 2024.

APAC consumers shift towards digital transactions

The rise of digital payments in Hong Kong reflects the broader move toward cashless transactions across Asia Pacific (APAC).

In Indonesia, digital payments are particularly popular, with 67% of surveyed consumers reporting usage in the past three months.

In Malaysia, adoption rates are also high, with 58% of respondents in the country reporting usage for online transactions. QR code payments are especially popular due to the seamless integration of many banks with DuitNow QR, the country’s QR standard for payment transactions. The Touch ‘n Go eWallet stands out as Malaysia’s leading digital payment service. The most popular digital payment service is the Touch ‘n Go eWallet with 87% of Malaysians reporting using it.

In Singapore, digital payments have reached mainstream adoption, with 50% of consumers reporting using it in the past three months for online transactions. The figures places digital payments almost on par with credit cards, the top payment method for online transactions in 2024 at 54%.

Besides digital payments, buy now, pay later (BNPL) arrangements are another payment method that is gaining traction in APAC, valued for their flexibility and the lack of interest charges.

This trend is projected to carry on, with Worldpay forecasting a 16% annual growth for BNPL through 2027. In 2023, BNPL accounted for 4% of online spend in APAC with over US$120 billion in transaction value.

Cryptocurrencies and stablecoins are also becoming increasingly relevant as a payment method in APAC. In Indonesia, for example, the proportion of consumers using cryptocurrency for online purchases surged from 7% in 2023 to 24% in 2024, an upward trend that’s seen throughout APAC, according to Forrester.

Usage of cash remains strong in APAC

Despite the growth of digital and alternative payment methods, cash remains a prominent payment method in APAC. In Hong Kong, 67% of consumers reported using cash for offline transactions in the past three months.

In Singapore, 20% of online shoppers online adults indicated that they had used cash to pay for online purchases in the past three months; 15% said the same about cash-on-delivery (COD). This reliance on cash is even more prevalent in Malaysia, where 27% consumers reported using cash and 25% using COD to pay for online transactions.

Though cash usage has declined across APAC, falling 12% YoY in 2023, according to Worldpay, the payment method still remains significant. Cash was the leading point-of-sale (POS) payment method in six of fourteen APAC markets in 2023, and accounted for more than US$2.5 trillion in transaction value.

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