Southeast Asia POS Terminal Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

Southeast Asia POS Terminal Market - Growth, Trends, COVID-19 Impact, and Forecasts (2022 - 2027)

The Southeast Asian POS terminal market (henceforth referred to as the market studied) was valued at USD 2,739.10 million in 2021, and it is expected to reach USD 6,841.21 million by 2027, registering a CAGR of approximately 16.56% during the period of 2022-2027.

The Covid-19 pandemic hastened the migration to real-time payments by changing payment needs and preferences. Since the start of COVID-19, about a third (30%) of customers in Southeast Asia have reduced their use of traditional payment methods, such as cash, credit cards, and debit cards. As a result, more than half of the customers surveyed (53%) now use real-time payments more frequently than they did before the outbreak.

• The POS terminal systems evolved from being transaction-oriented terminals/devices to systems that can integrate with the company's CRM and other financial solutions. This evolution, thus, empowered the end-users with business intelligence to better manage their revenue streams and inventory. With the functional benefits that the advanced POS systems offer, companies have replaced their traditional billing software with POS systems, thus, securing the growth of the POS system market.​
• Factors such as the gradually rising use of online payments in retail, growing middle-class income, and increasing investments and partnerships from foreign players are expected to boost the growth of the POS terminal market. For instance, in December 2020, UnionPay International (UPI) announced a partnership with Huawei and the Industrial and Commercial Bank of China Malaysia (ICBC Malaysia) to bring Huawei Pay to Malaysia for the first time, allowing Malaysians to take advantage of seamless tap-and-go payment services. Following China's Macao, Thailand, Pakistan, and Singapore, Malaysia was the sixth country outside Mainland China where the product was launched that year.
• Moreover, the rising financial frauds across the Southeast Asian countries have influenced the government regulatory bodies to secure payment transactions over the past few years. With customers demanding safe and reliable digital transactions, the need for using secure payment processes has increased. The regulatory bodies, therefore, have impacted the adoption of POS terminals in a positive manner. With the increasing mobility trends across the world, mobile POS systems are gaining traction. With the advent of cashless transactional technologies, POS has witnessed an increase in adoption rates in the region.
• However, lack of interoperability between the different payment systems, low acceptance by merchants, and high dependence on cash is restricting the market growth. According to the World Bank, over 50% of people living in Southeast Asia don't have an account at a formal financial institution. According to the Ministry of Industry and Trade, about 80% of people residing in Vietnam prefer to use cash for their daily transactions.

• The increasing number of retail stores across regions attract customers due to large discounts and other services; however, customer retention becomes the major challenge for them to sustain in the market. This competition increases the need to reinvent their business models to keep away from the competition with respect to price and find the balance between investing in the new technologies and the revenue. ​
• The sales reporting, inventory and financial management, and the customer analytics feature that POS terminals provide assists the retailers in overcoming the issues related to customer retention. Hence, the need for customer retention and competition growth in the industry promotes the growth of POS terminals. ​
• Moreover, the digital economy in Southeast Asia is set to expand rapidly. Google and Temasek predict that by the year 2023, online consumer spending across the top 6 economies will reach approximately a quarter of a trillion dollars.
• The growth of e-commerce is on the rise in Southeast Asia, and the expansion is fuelled by factors such as rising disposable incomes, improved logistical networks, increased internet/mobile usage, and alternative payment methods. According to the Hong Kong Trade Development Council study, e-commerce in Southeast Asia has spiked because of the pandemic. Indonesia exhibits an enormous appetite for the online marketplace, followed by the Philippines and Malaysia.
• The report states that Southeast Asia has a considerably higher prevalence of e-commerce than mature economies, with Indonesia depicting the most increased e-commerce adoption globally (at 87% as of 2020). Malaysia and Thailand followed close behind, with 83% and 84% of their respective internet users purchasing things online.
• The top players are localizing their retail sites and capturing their slice of the market across the ASEAN big six Indonesia, Thailand, Malaysia, Singapore, Philippines, and Vietnam. The local players in the POS terminal market are capturing the growing demand by adopting partnerships to grow their network and increase customer acquisition.

• Singapore has for a long time been at the forefront of payment innovations. The acceleration of electronic payments in the country has been one of the critical objectives of the government's Smart Nation Vision. In this regard, Singapore has invested substantially in building long-term infrastructure for cashless payments.
• To encourage digital payments among smaller businesses, including hawkers, the government is focusing on promoting QR-based payments. Launching a unified QR code called Singapore Quick Response Code (SGQR) as a standard at the POS in September 2018 by the Monetary Authority of Singapore in collaboration with Infocomm Media Development Authority has further improved the country's overall payments ecosystem. SGQR allows the merchants to save a significant amount in payment acceptance costs by eliminating the need for investing in different QR codes from each provider or installing a traditional POS terminal.
• Singapore also has specific e-commerce regulations. Government agencies have created initiatives and grants to encourage e-commerce investment in the country.
• Furthermore, according to Microsoft, while 83% of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) in Singapore now have digital transformation strategies in place, more than half (54%) reported delays in their digitalization plans due to Covid-19. Also, despite higher adoption of digital transformation, only two in five SMEs perceive their efforts to be successful. As was the case throughout the world, the economic impacts of COVID-19 were felt most acutely at the point of sale. The pandemic contributed to significant drops in POS transaction values in Singapore (-10.4%).
• The Philippines and Singapore's central banks have allegedly expanded their existing fintech relationship to improve cross-border digital payments in the Association of Southeast Asian Nations (ASEAN) area. The Fintech Innovation Function Cooperation Agreement was signed in November 2021 by the Bangko Sentral ng Pilipinas (BSP) and the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). Several initiatives such as these are poised to create more opportunities for POS terminals in the country.

The Southeast Asia point of sale terminal market is moderately fragmented due to the presence of local and international players. The players in the market are investing in inventing new ways to attract and retain customers. The subscription-based pricing model in the software segment offers flexibility to the customers but increases the market competition.

• June 2021 - Toshiba, in partnership with Worldline, announced the launch of the Pro-X Hybrid Kiosk, which accepts payments using the Worldline LANE/3000 Terminal and allows retailers to reinvent their store design while increasing throughput capacity.
• June 2021 - Samsung Electronics announced the expansion of its all-inclusive Kiosk, which offers customers contactless payment and ordering capabilities. It has a protective coating, easy-to-understand installation options, and is powered by Samsung Knox technology for three-layer security protection.

• The market estimate (ME) sheet in Excel format
• 3 months of analyst support