How to Accept Payments in SE Asia: Build a Checkout That Converts

If you plan to grow across Southeast Asia (SEA), your biggest lever is the checkout process. The region’s digital economy is projected to reach approximately US$263 billion by 2024, and live and video commerce already account for around one-fifth of e-commerce GMV. The challenge is deciding how to accept payments in SE Asia without adding friction. You may face higher declines and drop-offs than in your home market, feel unsure which local methods matter most for each audience, and struggle with cross-border risk, foreign exchange, and fees while trying to scale. This article provides a clear, non-promotional playbook that you can apply today.

Table of Contents

Why Your Choice of Payments Partner Matters

Your provider determines how quickly you can add local wallets, plug into account-to-account (A2A) rails, and manage cross-border risk. Leading platforms such as Antom, Stripe, and Adyen are investing in SEA connectivity—regional wallet coverage, bank transfer schemes, and tools for routing and fraud—all of which you can use to shorten time‑to‑market and stabilize conversion.

Regional Strategy: How to Accept Payments in SE Asia

Regionally, digital payments continue to gain share as QR codes and instant bank transfers become an integral part of daily life. Live and social commerce amplify this trend by compressing discovery and purchase into a few taps. Your strategy should reflect that reality: lead with wallets and A2A on mobile, keep cards prominent for affluent segments, and deploy COD selectively as an on‑ramp where trust or logistics are still forming.

Demographics, Access, and Readiness

Internet Penetration & Population Structure

SEA is young and mobile‑first. By the end of 2023, 4.6 billion people (57% of the world’s population) used mobile internet; yet, a 39% usage gap remains among those covered by mobile broadband but not using it—consider this context when designing for SEA. Designing for low‑bandwidth contexts, smaller screens, and fast, one‑screen checkouts helps you meet users where they are.

Economic Dispersion & Financial Service Use

Card access varies widely. In markets such as Singapore, cards remain strong; in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines, digital wallets often sit on top of bank accounts and become the everyday online method. As you plan, assume heterogeneity and validate with local data before you pick a default.

Online Shopping Behaviors

Frequency and Categories

SEA shoppers frequently buy online, with fashion, beauty, home, and FMCG leading the baskets. Video commerce and live streams account for a significant portion of GMV and reward fast, low-friction payment flows.

Device and Channel Habits

Mobile dominates—wallets and QR A2A fit “one‑hand” purchasing in apps and live streams. Switching context to enter card details mid-stream can kill the user’s intent, so prioritize methods that don’t force users away from the moment.

Payment Preferences and Shifts

Digital Wallets

Wallets are the default in Indonesia, Vietnam, and the Philippines. Digital wallet users are expected to increase from approximately 250 million in 2023 to around 360 million by 2028 across the SEA region. As coverage and user bases continue to grow, you should integrate the top local wallets early. Treat them as your mobile baseline—not a niche add‑on.

Cards and Local Schemes

Cards still matter—especially in more mature contexts, such as Singapore, where credit cards account for approximately 42% of e-commerce payments. Pair cards with wallets and A2A to catch incremental demand and give users a fallback when one rail blips.

Bank Transfers and Account‑to‑Account

Instant bank rails like Malaysia’s FPX/DuitNow and Thailand’s PromptPay have made A2A a mainstream e‑commerce option. In Malaysia, bank transfers account for approximately 39% of e-commerce payments. These methods bring instant settlement, familiar flows, and attractive costs for banked consumers.

Cash on Delivery (COD)

COD remains relevant in pockets where cash preference and rural logistics persist (notably parts of Vietnam and the Philippines). Vietnam’s COD share is about 17%. Use COD as a bridge for first‑time buyers, then nudge repeat purchases to digital methods.

Implications for Your Mix

Cover wallets + A2A broadly; 2) Keep cards visible for high‑intent and high‑AOV users; 3) Offer COD where it reliably lifts first‑order conversion; and 4) Tune everything by market cluster below.

Cross-Border Behavior and Platform Context

Growth and Direction of Spend

Cross-border e-commerce is on the rise, with shoppers in Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand often spending more per person on cross-border orders than on domestic ones. The cross-border market is on track to reach approximately US$14.6 billion by 2028, roughly 2.8 times its 2023 level, and mobile shopping penetration already sits around 75–95% in key markets. Platforms such as Shopee and Lazada dominate the regional market share, while mobile shopping penetration is exceptionally high in key markets.

Consumer Expectations for Cross‑Border Checkout

Shoppers expect transparent FX, familiar local methods, and strong trust signals: buyer protection, clear refund windows, reliable delivery, and visible ratings. In live streams, wallets and QR are table stakes.

Frictions and Trust Signals That Shape Conversion

Top Merchant‑Reported Payment Challenges

The most common hurdles in new SEA launches are fraud and security, multi‑system integration to cover local methods, and managing fees and FX. You can mitigate these issues by centralizing orchestration, adding behavioral risk signals, and tracking the total cost per method (interchange/scheme, FX, and operations).

What Improves Conversion

Teams report revenue lift when they introduce the right local methods and speed up checkouts. You should also prioritize soft‑decline recovery (issuer retries, fallbacks, and smart routing) during peak promos.

Checkout Experience Priorities

One‑tap wallets and QR A2A first on mobile
Guest checkout with short, local‑aware forms
Upfront total cost with FX clarity and refund timelines

Country-Level Clusters and Nuances

Cluster	Representative markets	Dominant methods	Notes
More mature digital payment contexts	Singapore, Malaysia	Cards; bank transfer rails (FPX/DuitNow)	High trust in cards; add A2A for cost and redundancy.
Wallet‑first & installment‑friendly	Indonesia, Philippines, Vietnam	E‑wallets; growing BNPL	Wallet users are surging; BNPL helps uncarded, younger shoppers.
COD‑reliant segments	Vietnam (rural), parts of PH	COD + wallets	Use COD as an acquisition method; migrate repeat buyers to digital channels.

Practical Framework: How to Accept Payments in SE Asia

Map Market Demand

Segment by country, device, and channel (marketplace, live, app). Use public baselines—e‑commerce GMV growth, wallet/A2A adoption, and live‑commerce penetration—to set targets for method coverage per market.

Localize the Method Mix

Make the leading wallets table stakes in ID/PH/VN, support FPX/DuitNow in MY, and PromptPay in TH, while keeping cards in SG. Add BNPL where AOV justifies it. Offer COD, which removes first‑order anxiety, and you can control logistics costs.

Optimize Checkout UX

Put mobile first. Keep the payment sheet to one screen, auto‑format fields, and set smart country defaults. Don’t bury local methods. Display the total price, including FX, delivery, and fees, before payment. Make refund steps obvious.

Manage Risk and Cost.

Expect more cross‑border fraud probing. Utilize device and behavior signals, velocity checks, and adaptive 3D security where applicable. Compare total cost and approval by method and switch traffic when conditions change. Build playbooks for peak events (retry windows, instant fallbacks, and risk thresholds).

Close the Loop

Monitor performance by market, method, and channel. Run controlled experiments—reorder methods, trial a wallet‑first vs. card‑first variant, or add a bank‑transfer step—and measure approval, AOV, and refund impact over 28–60 days. Share wins with CX and ops, and retire low performers to keep UX lean.

Conclusion

There is no single “right” checkout for SEA. You win when you localize the mix and remove friction: lead with wallets and QR‑powered A2A, keep cards for mature segments, and use COD as an entry point where it truly helps. Pair that with crisp mobile UX, visible trust signals, and disciplined risk and FX management, and you’ll convert more buyers—market by market—while building a resilient foundation for growth. Throughout your rollout, continue to validate with real user behavior and return to the core question: how to accept payments in Southeast Asia for your audience today.