Millennials set to drive $145b digital payment shift

Total transaction value is forecasted to nearly triple by 2030 as younger generations abandon physical currency.

Singapore’s digital payments market leads amongst the Southeast Asian region, driven by the high digital wallets adoption rate (70%) amongst millennials, increasing consumer use and investor funding.

A report by the Singapore FinTech Association and PwC Singapore projects that the value of digital payments in Singapore will reach $145b (US$113.9b) by 2030, up from $50b (US$39.3b) in 2023.

Millennials form the largest group of digital wallet users, whilst only 39% of Baby Boomers admitted to owning accounts.

Generation Z and Millennials are also particularly active in using digital wallets for cross-border payments.

Amongst Gen Z consumers in Singapore, PayNow is the preferred option for 68%, whilst about 29% also use GrabPay.

Many Gen Z users rarely carry cash, with a substantial portion relying entirely on mobile phones for transactions.

Overall, 30% of Singapore consumers use their phones exclusively to make payments, a figure notably higher than the global average.

Data from Singapore’s real-time payments system, FAST, shows over 500 million transactions in 2024, a 31% increase from the previous year with around 98% of adults in Singapore now using digital wallets.

Digital wallets are becoming more common for both online and in-store payments. In 2024, they accounted for around 39% of e-commerce transactions and 29% of point-of-sale payments.

Funding for Singapore’s payments sector reached $405m (US$318.1m) in the first nine months of 2025, higher than the combined funding for Indonesia, Malaysia, thePhilippines, Thailand, and Vietnam.

Payments made up a large share of Singapore’s total fintech funding during this period.

The sector is regulated by the Payment Services Act 2019, which sets rules for licensing, safety, and anti-money laundering for payment providers.

($1.00 = US$0.79)

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