The Singapore card payments market is forecast to grow by 14.3% to reach SGD162.1 billion ($120.7 billion) in 2024, supported by a constant consumer shift towards non-cash payments, says GlobalData, a leading data and analytics company.

GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics reveals that card payments value in Singapore registered a growth of 20.9% in 2022, driven by a rise in consumer spending. The market continued its growth trajectory with 13.7% growth in 2023 to reach SGD141.9 billion ($105.6 billion).

Ravi Sharma, Lead Banking and Payments Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “Singapore’s payment card market is innovative and rapidly growing. Efforts from the government, financial authorities, and banks to ensure a robust banked population, a high level of awareness of electronic payments, and developing payment acceptance infrastructure have encouraged consumers to use electronic payment methods for day-to-day transactions. The growth in the payment card market is also characterized by the rise of contactless payments, and a surge in credit and charge card payments.”

A well-developed payment infrastructure has supported the overall card payments growth in Singapore, with POS terminal penetration per 1 million individuals standing at 53,562, one of the highest among its Asian peers, only behind South Korea.

The government is playing its part to drive the acceptance of electronic payments among the merchants in Singapore. The Productivity Solutions Grant (PSG) is one such initiative, through which local businesses can receive subsidies on IT solutions and equipment, including POS installations. SMEs can receive up to 50% funding support once their PSG application is approved.

The growth of card payments has also been supported by the high adoption and usage of contactless cards, driven by increased awareness of contactless cards among the consumers and merchants in Singapore. Consumers and financial institutions alike have embraced the technology, with widespread acceptance infrastructure being the major reason why the cards are popular.

According to GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey*, over 70% of the respondents in Singapore indicated having access to a contactless card and used it for payments.

Among the card types, credit and charge cards accounted for 65.6% share of the overall card payment value in 2023. This is mainly due to the value-added benefits associated with these cards, such as flexible payment options and reward programs.

Debit cards, on the other hand, account for the remaining 34.4% share though they are now increasingly being used for payments as well, especially low-to-medium value transactions.

Sharma concludes: “Singapore’s payment card market is expected to continue its upward growth trajectory, supported by the growing consumer preference for card payments, expanding payments infrastructure, and rise in contactless payments, The market is expected to grow at a CAGR of 11.1% between 2024 and 2028 to reach SGD247.3 billion ($184.1 billion) in 2028.”

*GlobalData’s 2023 Financial Services Consumer Survey was carried out in Q2 2023. Approximately 50,000 respondents aged 18+ were surveyed across 40 countries.