In recent times many countries across the world have been going the cashless way as technology has become cheaper. Going fully digital means the government can also track their money in a better way. Almost all the countries have developed their own payment apps and more countries are getting added to the list. According to statistics, after the pandemic, there were more than 70 billion digital transactions worldwide. Majority of people have now turned to online shopping to make purchases, the reason for the growth of digital payments.

Here, we take a look at the world’s top 10 countries shifting to digital payments. These countries have significantly innovated their digital payment space which has enabled people to seamlessly transact digitally.

1. India

India lists amongst the world’s top 10 countries for digital payments as it boasts a number of apps that perform well in terms of digital payments. India's digital payment march was started by companies like Paytm and Google Pay. The big game changer was UPI which is actually what caused such high digital transactions to arise. QR code payment for all sorts of tiny businesses became possible due to Paytm. The result was anybody could pay anyone by digital means. After the pandemic, there was a big rise in online shopping which in turn surged digital contactless payments. India has recorded around 164 billion digital payments in 2024 which a way higher than the previous three years. The value of UPI based digital payments has also reached over 200 trillion Indian rupees in 2024. According to market experts the transaction volumes of digital payment industry in India is expected to increase from 159 billion in 2023-24 to over 481 billion by 2028-29.

2. China

China has recorded a huge surge in online transactions and many online payment apps like Alipay, Wechat Pay, ApplePay, Tenpay and others are being used by people in the country. AliPay and Wechat Pay are far more widely used for conducting digital transactions. Merchants who operate with AliPay also do transactions digitally. The transaction value of digital payments market in China is expected to reach US $3,744 billion in 2024 with an annual growth rate of 8.77% from 2024 to 2028. The number of people involved in digital payment transactions in China has been growing at a fast pace which makes it stand among the world’s top 10 countries for digital payments.

3. South Korea

In South Korea, all kinds of banking business and peer-to-peer transactions have gone digital in a big way. Apps like Amex and Kakao Pay are all predominantly used in the country. There are other apps like Toss Pay, Payco, T-money, Cashbee, and Visa payment which are also widely used. After the pandemic, a lot of businesses in South Korea started accepting payments online which led to an increase in digital payments. The total transaction value in the digital payments segment is projected to reach US$ 229.4 billion in 2024.

4. Thailand

In Thailand there are many small businesses processing orders and payments for its fledgling online economy. The country has come up with a payment platform called Prompt Pay. Before the pandemic Thailand had about 7 million digital transactions which has shot up to US $14.5 million now. There are many start-ups that are coming forward and building solutions to make digital payment more feasible in the country. The total number of users in Thailand is projected to increase by 10.4 million between 2024 and 2028, which would shoot up the total number at 43.94 million by 2028.

5. United Kingdom

United Kingdom has also seen a steep rise in digital transactions over the past few years and there are various choices for digital wallets in the country. PayPal is one of the largest transaction companies which manages all kinds of banking transactions in the country. After the pandemic caused an explosion in online payment in e-commerce, United Kingdom has attracted many fintech companies to provide solutions in this sector. People's adoption of digital is on the rise in the United Kingdom which has prompted the total transaction value of digital payments market to reach US $513.10 billion this year.

6. United States of America

The United States Of America also has about half of online transactions worldwide. Companies like PayPal and Google Pay are leading in the American market. They have revolutionized banking and made transactions much easier. In addition, after the pandemic, the United States also saw a sharp rise in online transactions. The digital payment market’s total transaction value is projected to reach US $3,073 billion in 2024.

7. Japan

Although Japan is technologically advanced as compared to other countries, cash is predominantly used to transact by majority of people. However, the trend is changing steadily as the young population prefers online mode for transacting. After the pandemic, Japan has seen a steep rise in digital transactions. The most preferred mode of cashless payments in the country is PayPay which has around 51% consumers as on 2024. The digital payments market in Japan is projected to grow at a CAGR of 8.44% from 2024 to 2028.

8. Brazil

Brazil is also transitioning into the digital payments space at a fast pace with many fintech companies coming up to provide their services. Pix, a fintech software introduced by Brazil's Central Bank is widely used in the country. Other common payment methods include PayPal, GooglePay and Klarna. The annual growth rate of digital transactions is expected to reach US $253.70 billion by 2028 in Brazil.

9. Nigeria

Nigeria is another country that has tried implementing digital payment methods in its territory. There are many apps like Tingg, Paga, and Mobile Money which have helped the digital payment penetration in the country shoot up, especially after the pandemic. The total transaction value is projected to reach US $21.32 billion by this year end. Also, the annual growth rate is projected to reach US $31.28 billion by 2028.

10. Mexico

Mexico has only very recently begun to transition to digital payment methods but there is still the long path ahead before this can be the norm. At present, over 85% of transactions are done in cash. What is strange about the people of Mexico is that they believe cash to be more reliable than online payments. Even when shopping on any e-commerce platforms, they will want cash on delivery instead. Secondly, the banks are not innovative too. However, the digital wallet space is expected to grow at a CAGR of 14.50% from 2024 to 2032 in the country.