Hong Kong wallets surge as card share drops to 31% online

HKQR and contactless payment acceptance accelerated mobile transaction adoption.

Digital wallets became the leading payment method for online purchases in Hong Kong in 2025, overtaking cards for the first time.

Digital wallets accounted for 41% of e-commerce transaction value in Hong Kong this year, compared with 31% for credit cards, according to Worldpay’s Global Payments Report 2026. 

The share for digital wallets is projected to increase to 51% by 2030, whilstr  credit cards are expected to decline to 19%.

The report said wallet adoption has been supported by the widespread use of mobile payment services including AlipayHK, WeChat Pay HK, Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal and Octopus Wallet. It also cited broad contactless payment acceptance, including QR code and HKQR systems.

Despite the growth of digital wallets in online payments, cards continued to account for a large share of consumer spending overall. 

Cards represented 36% of e-commerce value and 40% of point-of-sale (POS) transaction value in 2025.

In the POS segment, digital wallets made up 45% of transaction value this year, ahead of credit cards at 33%. By 2030, digital wallets are forecast to account for 52% of POS value, compared with 24% for credit cards.

The report also highlighted growth in account-to-account (A2A) payments through Hong Kong’s Faster Payment System (FPS). 

A2A payments are expected to account for 23% of e-commerce value and 13% of POS value by 2030.

Launched by the Hong Kong Monetary Authority in 2018, FPS allows users to make instant payments in multiple currencies through mobile banking and digital wallet applications.

Amongst card schemes in Hong Kong, China UnionPay held the largest share in 2024 at 35%, followed by Visa at 22%, EPS at 18%, Mastercard at 13% and American Express at 7%.

Worldpay estimated Hong Kong’s e-commerce market size at $7.5b in 2025, rising to $9.3b by 2030. 

The POS market is projected to grow from $82b to $92b over the same period.