Singapore credit and charge card market forecast to reach $60 billion by 2025

Yasmine Masi
26 July 2022

Singapore’s credit and charge card payments market is expected to reach SG$80.6 billion (AU$59.8 billion) in 2025, continuing its post-pandemic revival, according to research by GlobalData.

GlobalData’s Payment Cards Analytics revealed the market is set to expand at a compound annual growth rate of 6.5 per cent between 2021 and 2025.

This comes after the value of Singapore’s credit and charge card payments market plummeted by 15.3 per cent in 2020, along with the broader economy’s decline of 5.4 per cent due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

However, 2021 saw a massive turnaround, with GDP registering 7.2 per cent in growth alongside a successful vaccination rollout and government stimulus scheme. A rise in consumer spending and a better economic environment also led to a 10.3 per cent growth in credit and charge payment value, reaching SG$62.6 billion (AUD$46.4 billion).

“The economic uncertainty caused by the Covid-19 pandemic has forced consumers to cut down on travel and high-ticket items such as luxury goods, which in turn has affected the credit and charge card market,” Ravi Sharma, lead banking and payments analyst at GlobalData, said.

“Singaporeans prefer credit cards for payments, mainly due to value-added services such as reward points, discounts on purchases at partner retailers, instalment facilities, and other benefits associated with these cards.

“While the pandemic led to a decline in the overall consumer spending, it resulted in a significant shift in consumer preferences towards the use of non-cash methods of payment.

“This, coupled with the recovery in consumer spending, is expected to have a positive impact on the credit and charge card payments market.”

GlobalData also expected the credit market to grow by 8.8 per cent in 2022, 1.6 per cent quicker than its debit card counterpart.

This comes as no surprise considering Singapore’s card acceptance network, providing almost six point of sale (POS) terminals for every 100 individuals, and the abundance of flexible payment options offered to credit card holders by banks.