Card payments to grow 7.2% CAGR to $209.2b by 2029

Contactless use and merchant expansion underpin growth.

Singapore’s card payments market is forecast to increase at a compound annual rate growth (CAGR) of 7.2% to reach $209.2b by 2029, supported by near-universal bank access, extensive merchant acceptance and rising use of contactless cards, according to a GlobalData report.

Card payment value rose from $91.6b in 2020 to $158.2b in 2025, with annual growth peaking at 20.9% in 2022 before moderating to 6.2% in 2025 as spending normalised, GlobalData data showed.

Growth is expected to remain steady rather than accelerate, with card payment value projected to increase to $174.7b in 2026 and $184.9b in 2027, before reaching $209.2b by 2029, while annual growth eases to about 6.0% by the end of the forecast period.

Credit and charge cards accounted for 67.6% of total card payment value in 2025, supported by consumer demand for rewards, cashback and instalment features, which continued to drive faster growth in credit card volumes and values compared with debit cards.

Debit cards made up 32.4% of total card payment value, or $51.2b, supported by financial inclusion initiatives, low-cost basic bank accounts and strong domestic acceptance through the NETS network, which connects partner banks to more than 150,000 acceptance points and supports contactless payments via NETS FlashPay.

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