Indonesia, Thailand digital wallet market record growth in 2025
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The Indonesian prepaid card and digital wallet market is expected to grow by nearly 10% in 2025, according to a new report.
The report, compiled by Research and Markets, projects an 8.4% growth for the card and digital wallet sector, bringing its market capitalization to $7.94 billion by the end of 2025. While the sector has grown since 2020, analysts from Research and Markets are predicting a continuation of the high metrics up to 2029.
The report is eyeing a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.6% between 2025 and 2029, which is poised to grow the market capitalization to over $10 billion. Between 2020 and 2025, the industry's CAGR stood at 13%, but stiffer regulations and a changing consumer climate may slow industry growth.
The biggest driver of growth is massive technological improvement in the Indonesian financial landscape. Prepaid cards can be seamlessly integrated with digital wallets and mobile payment platforms, expanding their utility beyond traditional PoS use cases.
With contactless cards going mainstream, prepaid card solutions are racking up wider adoption levels in Indonesia. Furthermore, the e-commerce and ride-hailing sectors are powering the need for prepaid card solutions, while the giant strides in cross-border payments are playing their part in the sector's growth.
'As the adoption of digital payment technologies accelerates, prepaid cards will become an even more essential component of Indonesia's financial ecosystem,' read the report.
Analysts at Research and Markets report that closed-loop cards accepted at specific retailers will see their market share growth slow down before the end of the decade. On the other hand, open-loop cards will be the biggest growth driver by card type, with mid-tier businesses leading in terms of business segmentation.
The report sheds light on the emerging virtual prepaid card market, predicting that the segment will record a double-digit CAGR in the period under review.
In terms of market share, mainstream financial institutions will be the largest cohort, leveraging their customer base and emerging digital banking capabilities. However, the report predicts the rise of new fintech with their suite of innovative prepaid card solutions to snag market share from industry heavyweights.
Indonesia braces for changes to its financial ecosystem
Players in Indonesia's financial ecosystem are readying themselves for a raft of changes poised to change the local landscape. For starters, the country is transitioning oversight of the digital asset sector to the Financial Services Authority from the Trade Ministry. While the transition is the most seismic in terms of impact, investors are keeping their eye on the commodities watchdog over potential changes to introduce double taxation to digital currencies. Furthermore, the country's central bank is inching forward with its central bank digital currency (CBDC) experiments.
Thailand's prepaid card market will clinch an $18.64 billion valuation in 2025
Meanwhile, the prepaid card market in Thailand is growing too and is tipped to achieve an $18.64 billion valuation by the end of 2025.
According to another Research and Markets report, the sector's impressive growth rate will continue on its current trajectory till the end of the decade. The report pegs the compound annual growth rate (CAGR) at 13.4%, which will see it reach a peak of $30.87 billion in 2030.
Several factors account for the industry's projected growth, including the speed of financial innovation and strong regulatory support from the government. The Southeast Asian country has been advocating for a cashless economy, and prepaid card issuers are angling to reap the rewards of a policy change.
Thailand's digital money scheme, designed to provide cash to millions of citizens, is considered a major growth driver for the prepaid card market amid a streak of digital wallet integrations.
The report highlights the increasing trend of digital wallet integrations with prepaid cards and their rising utility for expense management by corporate entities. Companies cite the perks of real-time transaction monitoring and the possibility of improving corporate expenditure management.
The report predicts a rise in 'customized prepaid card offerings' for corporate finance use cases to broaden access across Thailand.
Mainstream commercial banks will continue dominating the industry, given their massive client base and headstart in digital banking. The report lists Bangkok Bank (NASDAQ: BKKLY), Kasikorn Bank, and Siam Commercial Bank as the trio with the largest market share but hints at the rise of new fintech firms.
Among the new entrants in the space, TrueMoney, Rabbit LINE Pay, and AirPay are charting a path, offering prepaid card offerings with digital wallet integration and a spate of personalized solutions for consumers. Over the last two years, the local ecosystem has been dotted with a streak of partnerships and new launches from new entrants in the space, but larger players are also snapping up emerging firms in high-profile acquisitions.
A changing financial landscape
Thai authorities are leaning on digital assets to improve the sector, famously turning to digital currencies as electronic cash in Phuket.
Thai authorities are also pushing for a government-backed stablecoin for residents while pioneering a $149 million digital bond in Q3 2025. Not keen on settling for local developments, Thailand is riding the wave of key regional partnerships to improve the state of payments in the Asia Pacific region.
Watch: New age of payment solutions
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