Meanwhile, just six per cent of adults in the country have access to a credit card 6. Fewer than half of Indonesians have access to a bank account, according to OECD figures 5. With around 275 million people, Indonesia is the world’s fourth most populous country - roughly the same size as the United Kingdom, France, Germany and Italy combined 4.īut despite the growing popularity of buying online, most people have had few ways to pay for their purchases. That was above the world average of 55 per cent, and two percentage points higher even than China, which has long been regarded as the mobile payments capital of the world. And yet, neither country can compare to Indonesia, which now tops the list when it comes to mobile e-commerce.Įven before the pandemic struck, 76 per cent of all Indonesian internet users were buying something on their mobile each month 3. The main reason for this is the incredible growth of e-commerce in the region, which doubled in countries such as Thailand and Malaysia between 20 2. As we discussed in our recent article, Delivering digital financial inclusion in Southeast Asia, the region has become the world’s fastest-growing regional market for digital wallets, with usage forecast to increase by more than 300 per cent between 20 1.
