BUSINESS

China Leads World in Mobile Payment Uptake as Asia Drives Growth

Published: May. 20, 2026 6:54 p.m. GMT+8

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China led the world in mobile payment adoption in 2025, with apps accounting for a majority of point-of-sale transaction value, far above the global average of 37%, a recent report showed.

Digital payment apps already dominate online transactions worldwide and are rapidly reshaping in-store spending, according to the Global Payments Report 2026. But nowhere is the shift more complete than in China, where cash and cards have been largely sidelined by mobile wallets from Alipay and WeChat Pay.

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China led mobile payments in 2025 with 89% of POS spending, far above the global average of 37%.
Asia-Pacific markets like India (65%) and Thailand (56%) also saw high adoption, while Europe remains card-dominated.
Cryptocurrency accounted for only 0.19% of e-commerce payments in 2025, and cash fell to 14% from 44% in 2014.

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Who’s Who

Alipay: Alipay, a leading mobile wallet in China, is a key driver of the country's dominant mobile payment adoption. In 2025, payment apps like Alipay accounted for 89% of point-of-sale spending in China, the highest globally, reflecting a shift that largely bypassed credit cards.

WeChat Pay: WeChat Pay is a dominant mobile wallet in China, alongside Alipay. By 2025, payment apps accounted for 89% of point-of-sale spending in China, the highest globally, with mobile wallets largely sidelining cash and cards. WeChat Pay is key to this mobile-first payment ecosystem.

Apple Inc.: Apple Inc. supported card payments in Europe via its devices and Apple Pay, but its control over NFC access constrained mobile payment competition. A 2024 EU agreement opened NFC to third parties, possibly accelerating innovation.

Global Payments: Global Payments is a payment technology company whose China business is led by General Manager Shi Nanfei. It publishes the *Global Payments Report 2026*, highlighting China's 89% mobile payment adoption and commenting on crypto's limited disruptive role in payments due to regulatory risks.

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What Happened When

2014：: Cash accounted for 44% of in-store spending; buy-now-pay-later products accounted for 1% of global e-commerce payments.

2024：: Apple reached an agreement with EU regulators to open NFC access to third-party providers.

2025：: China led the world in mobile payment adoption, with payment apps accounting for 89% of point-of-sale transaction value. Globally, payment apps accounted for 37% of point-of-sale transaction value; digital wallets accounted for 56% of e-commerce payments and 33% of point-of-sale transactions, totaling $13.8 trillion; cash fell to 14% of in-store spending; buy-now-pay-later products rose to 4% of global e-commerce payments; direct crypto payments accounted for 0.19% of e-commerce payments; traditional cards made up 48% of point-of-sale spending.