When it comes to payments, Asia is a region of rapid growth and change. The region accounts for more than half of total global payment revenues, while the volume of QR code payments across south-east Asia is predicted to increase from 13 billion in 2023 to 90 billion in the next five years. The number of cashless payments in Apac is set to be higher than those in Europe and North America combined.
But such rapid behavioural and technological change means that regulators are often playing catch up. The result is that individual countries often have diverging licensing, compliance and safeguarding requirements. For firms looking to enter the Asian payments arena for the first time — or to expand their services to offer additional payment facilities — costly hurdles can often crop up.
