Digital wallets or e-wallets – such as Apple Pay, Google Pay, Grab Pay, Samsung Pay, PayPal – allow users to make financial transactions via their mobile devices, without taking out cash bills or bank cards. In APAC, some two-thirds of consumers (67%) say they trust such financial software applications with storing their funds and payment information (e.g. credit/debit card details) online, latest research by YouGov has found.
However, only three in seven consumers (43%) say they trust Buy Now Pay Later services, which allow users to defer payment for their purchases until a later date, often without having to pay interest charges.
An earlier YouGov study found that the vast majority of consumers in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore have concerns about using digital financial services – such as digital-only banks, e-wallets and cryptocurrencies. These concerns include too much risk from hackers, potential identity theft, not having access to their money without an internet connection, and insufficient fraud protection measures.
Overall trust in digital wallets is highest among consumers in mainland China (75%) and India (74%), although in terms of consumers who say they “completely trust” digital wallets, India (36%) and Indonesia (24%) are ahead of the APAC average (20%).
General distrust of e-wallets is highest among consumers in Australia (16%) and Singapore (8%) – which also have the highest share of undecided consumers, as well as the lowest share of consumers who say they somewhat/completely trust digital wallets.
Overall trust in Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services is highest in India (55%) and Indonesia (46%); both markets are also above the APAC average in the share of consumers who “completely trust” such short-term financing schemes.
General distrust of BNPL services is highest among consumers in Australia (33%) and Singapore (21%); both markets have the lowest overall share of consumers who somewhat/completely trust BNPL services. Meanwhile, Singapore and Hong Kong have the highest share of consumers who are undecided about BNPL (46%).
How does trust in digital wallets and BNPL services vary across different generations in key APAC markets?
Close to two-thirds of Australia’s consumers aged 25 to 76 say they trust digital wallets, although this is slightly higher among Gen Z and Gen X-ers (both 67%), and slightly lower among Millennials and Baby Boomers (both 63%).
Trust in BNPL services vary more widely between birth cohorts: under half of Millennials (46%) and Gen X-ers (45%) express confidence, but just over a third of Gen Z-ers (35%) and only a quarter of Baby Boomers (24%) say the same.
In Hong Kong, a clear majority of consumers trust digital wallets. But surprisingly, trust in these digital applications is higher among older consumers – Baby Boomers (77%) and Gen X-ers (72%) – than younger consumers – Gen Z-ers (68%) and Millennials (61%).
Older consumers in Hong Kong also trust BNPL services more than younger consumers. Almost half of Gen X-ers (47%) and 43% of Baby Boomers express confidence in BNPL services, but less than two in five Millennials (38%) and Gen Z-ers (30%) do.
More than two-thirds of Indonesia’s consumers say they trust digital wallets, with Gen X having the relative largest share of trusting consumers (72%) and Millennials the relative smallest (68%).
Most Gen X-ers also trust BNPL services (52%), as do almost half of Millennials (48%). In contrast, only two in five Gen Z-ers have faith in such short-term financing schemes (41%), with trust in BNPL services lowest among Baby Boomers (35%).
While a majority of Singapore’s consumers trust digital wallets, confidence is much higher among younger consumers. While four-fifths of Gen Z-ers (79%) and two-thirds of Millennials (66%) have faith in e-wallets, over half of Gen X-ers (55%) and Baby Boomers (58%) do.
In contrast, most consumers in Singapore do not trust BNPL services, although confidence is likewise higher among younger consumers. Less than two in five Gen Z-ers (37%) and Millennials (38%) say they trust such short-term financing schemes, but less than one in three Gen X-ers (30%) and Baby Boomers (31%) say the same.
Read YouGov's latest consumer research in the finance sector:
What are consumers' top concerns about using digital financial services in Australia, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Singapore?
What do consumers most consider when choosing a financial service provider in Australia, Singapore, Indonesia, Hong Kong?
How does consumer trust in traditional versus digital-only banks vary across different markets and age groups in APAC?
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Methodology: YouGov Custom Research is a full end-to-end service from YouGov experts, from sample framing and questionnaire design to analysis and more, which provides bespoke market intelligence and research insights. APAC data figures (N = 5,653) include the following markets: Australia, China, India, Indonesia, Hong Kong and Singapore.
Australia data figures (N = 1,018) have been weighted by age, gender, and region to be representative of all adults in Australia (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS) population estimates. Hong Kong data figures (N = 513) have been weighted by age and gender to represent the adult online population in Hong Kong (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Hong Kong Census and Statistics Department (C&SD) population estimates.
Indonesia data figures (N = 1,034) have been weighted by gender, age, socioeconomic class, city tier to be representative of the adult online population in Indonesia (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Indonesian Bureau of Statistics (BPS) population estimates. Singapore data figures (N = 1,063) have been weighted by age, gender, and ethnicity to be representative of all adults in Singapore (18 years or older), and reflect the latest Singapore Department of Statistics (DOS) estimates.
