Southeast Asia’s E-Commerce to Reach New Heights, Driven by Digital Payments and Cross-Border Commerce Growth

The latest InfoBrief by market intelligence firm IDC, commissioned by global payments platform 2C2P and Antom, revealed Southeast Asia’s (SEA’s) ecommerce market is projected to reach US$325 billion by 2028, fuelled by the rapid adoption of digital payments and regional interoperability, unlocking more opportunities in cross-border commerce for businesses.

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This year’s research paper, “How Southeast Asia Buys and Pays 2025”, marks the fourth edition of the IDC InfoBrief since 2021. IDC surveyed 600 respondents across six Southeast Asia (SEA) markets – Indonesia, Philippines, Malaysia, Singapore, Thailand and Vietnam, examining the evolving digital payments landscape as a whole and in each market.¹ As the fifth largest economy in the world, SEA’s exceptional growth trajectory is largely driven by its rapidly expanding e-commerce sector, underpinned by increasing digital payment adoption.

The research explores the region’s evolving digital payments landscape and provides a market-specific analysis of the payment trends in each market. It also sheds light on how these trends are reshaping business strategies and laying the foundation for future growth opportunities in the region.

Key highlights from the IDC InfoBrief:

It is critical to have a comprehensive understanding of SEA’s digital payment landscape to fully tap into this US$325b economy. To maximise reach within local markets, it is essential to offer customers their preferred payment methods to enhance the overall customer experience and drive higher conversion rates.

• Growth in ecommerce digital payments: By 2028, digital payments are expected to account for 94% of total e-commerce payments in Southeast Asia. The most significant growth can be seen in domestic payments (97.9%) and mobile wallets (94.9%), which have been instrumental in expanding the reach of ecommerce in regions that traditionally relied less on cards.
  
  
• Surge in Real-time payments (RTPs): RTPs will see an exponential growth in 2028, reaching over US$11 trillion. This is already evident in Singapore, where RTPs like PayNow are the third most supported payment methods according to surveyed merchants in 2024. The rise in RTPs in Southeast Asia is largely driven by government initiatives to reduce cash reliance and to promote lower-cost, fast payment methods which meet the needs of both consumers and merchants.
  
  
• Dominance of Mobile Wallets and Domestic Payments: Mobile wallets and domestic payments lead in popularity across Southeast Asia. In 2023, mobile wallets were the top choice in Indonesia, Malaysia, and Vietnam, while domestic payments dominated in Singapore and Thailand. This trend continued in 2024, with mobile wallets being the second most accepted payment method by surveyed merchants in Singapore and Philippines and the third in Indonesia and Thailand.

There are also significant opportunities across SEA in intra-SEA cross border commerce.

• Opportunities in cross-border commerce: Intra-SEA cross-border commerce is projected to reach $14.6 billion by 2028, a 2.8 times growth from 2023. Notably, except for Vietnam and Indonesia, average cross-border transaction values per customer surpass domestic values in SEA markets, highlighting significant opportunities for businesses operating in the region.
  
  
• Driving cross-border commerce with Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC): Cross-border commerce is further supported by initiatives such as the RPC, joined by all six markets in the SEA region. The collaboration aims to strengthen and streamline inter-country payments, focusing on the development of seamless, efficient, and cost-effective cross-border transactions.
  
  
• Higher returns in cross-border commerce: For 62% of surveyed SEA merchants who sold their services and products across borders, such transactions were, on average, 21% higher than domestic transactions. Merchants stand to reap significant rewards by looking beyond their shores and building up their capacity to cater to neighbouring markets.
  
  
• Untapped potential of intra-SEA trade: Despite its promising growth, intra-SEA trade remains underutilised, accounting for only a small fraction of total cross-border commerce in each market. To fully capitalise on this, merchants must gain a deeper understanding of the distinctive operating environments in each market while leveraging shared advantages. By strategically addressing these factors, businesses can unlock the full potential of intra-regional trade and drive sustainable growth.

Agnes Chua, Managing Director of Business and Product Development of 2C2P, stated, “Southeast Asia’s e-commerce landscape is evolving at a breathtaking pace. Merchants recognise the immense opportunities this growth brings them in driving e-commerce revenue, but also acknowledge the increasing complexity it brings to their operations. This includes common challenges such as customer support and issue resolution, payment gateway integration and technology issues. At 2C2P, we empower businesses to navigate these challenges with confidence by delivering payment solutions that simplify operations, enhance cross-border capabilities, and drive growth in the region’s rapidly expanding digital economy so merchants can quickly unlock new opportunities and thrive in this dynamic environment."

Gary Liu, General Manager of Antom, Ant International, said, “Southeast Asia is rapidly emerging as a global hub for digital commerce and innovation. As businesses expand across borders, seamless and efficient transactions are essential for maintaining competitiveness. At Antom, we see payments not just as infrastructure but as a catalyst for business growth. By working with 2C2P and other businesses within Ant International's ecosystem, we empower merchants with unified payment and digitisation solutions covering the full payment lifecycle while also exploring opportunities in global account services, financing, and treasury management to further support their expansion. Through close collaboration with local regulators and industry partners, we aim to unlock new opportunities for businesses of all sizes, helping them thrive in Southeast Asia's evolving digital economy."

About 2C2P

2C2P is a full-suite payments platform that empowers the world's leading enterprises to securely accept and make payments through one point of integration. Its extensive network spans across online, mobile and offline channels including over 600,000 alternative payment locations, enabling enterprises to reach their customers or recipients anywhere. 2C2P also provides value-added services such as issuing, 3D Secure, bill payments and digital goods to meet every business need.

Headquartered in Singapore with operations across Southeast Asia and Hong Kong, 2C2P is the preferred payments partner for airlines, online marketplaces, retailers and other enterprises. To learn more, please visit https://2c2p.com/.

About Antom

Ant International's Antom is the leading payment and digitisation services provider for merchants around the world. It offers unified, vertical-specific digital payment solutions to serve businesses of all sizes. Antom supports merchants in over 50 countries and regions, enabling them to connect with consumers in more than 200 markets, with the flexibility to accept payments in more than 100 currencies. Beyond payments, it provides digital marketing solutions and merchant digitisation services to help merchant streamline operations and enhance customer engagement. To learn more, please visit https://www.antom.com/.

¹IDC InfoBrief, commissioned by 2C2P, How Southeast Asia Buys and Pays 2025, Doc #AP242491IB, February 2025

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