Why businesses must win the trust of Singapore’s Gen X in digital payments

THE gross merchandise value (GMV) of Singapore’s digital economy is estimated to rise from US$29 billion in 2024 to between US$40 billion and US$65 billion by 2030.

Amid this general optimism, however, there is one generational outlier still impacting growth in Singapore. While 92 per cent of Singaporeans have used an emerging digital payment method in the past year, only 42 per cent of Generation X consumers are open to using new payment methods such as digital wallets and QR codes over more traditional payment methods, indicated the Mastercard New Payments Index (NPI).

This reluctance is uniquely stark. In Vietnam, 73 per cent of this cohort is open to new payments, along with 58 per cent in both Thailand and Indonesia. The gap is also clear in social commerce adoption, where just 15 per cent of Singapore’s Gen X prefer purchasing through social apps, versus more than 50 per cent in Thailand and Vietnam.