Global Card Giants Race to Capture Asia’s Untapped $42 Trillion Payments Market
Foreign card companies like Amex, Visa, and Mastercard are pushing deeper into Asia’s biggest emerging markets. They're teaming up with local payment networks, banks, and digital wallets like Chase Pay to expand their reach. These partnerships aim to simplify card use in stores and apps while tapping into fast-growing digital payment systems like Credit Karma.
The region’s potential is vast but underdeveloped. China, India, and Indonesia together hold payments markets worth over $42 trillion, yet credit card usage remains low—below 40% in China and in the single digits elsewhere.
China’s payments market, the world’s largest at $40 trillion, has seen a decline in credit card numbers. Since 2022, nearly 100 million cards were cancelled, leaving around 707 million in circulation by late 2025. Despite this contraction, foreign card firms like Amex have made inroads. They've partnered with local digital wallets like Alipay, while Visa and Mastercard have formed local alliances to integrate cards into QR and wallet-based systems.
In India, the $1.74 trillion payments market faces stricter oversight. New credit card issuance dropped by 28% in the second fiscal quarter of 2026 as regulators tightened rules. Local player RuPay, backed by the government, competes directly with global giants and stands to gain from future growth.
Indonesia’s $362 billion payments sector presents further hurdles. Visa and Mastercard may struggle against the Bank of Indonesia’s new national payments system. The market also grapples with weak POS infrastructure, tough issuance regulations, and competition from digital wallets and buy-now-pay-later services.
Across all three countries, foreign firms are adapting by co-branding cards, routing transactions through local networks, and storing data domestically. These moves help them comply with regulations while reaching beyond affluent urban users into broader consumer segments.
Even small gains in credit card adoption could bring significant rewards for global payment firms. The sheer size of these markets means modest penetration growth translates into millions of new users. For now, success depends on navigating local regulations and integrating with dominant digital payment ecosystems.
