“• Singapore’s payment cards market is one of the most highly competitive and attractive markets in Asia-Pacific. Singapore’s payment cards market is mature and over served, with credit and debit card penetration rates of 1.7 and 2.0 respectively per inhabitant in 2014. In terms of transaction value and volume, Singapore’s payment cards accounted for 0.6% and 1% shares respectively in the Asia-Pacific region in 2014.
• The ‘Intelligent Nation 2015’ (iN2015) master plan, drawn up by the Singapore government, is expected to support to the growth of the cards and payments industry over the forecast period. The program aims to promote electronic payments through increased adoption of near-field communication (NFC) mobile payments with the establishment of an interoperable infrastructure for NFC services.
• In line with an industry-wide initiative led by the Association of Banks in Singapore (ABS), from October 1, 2013 all banks in Singapore implemented additional security measures for international banking transactions by deactivating the magnetic stripe on all credit and debit cards. Consequently, card fraud decreased in 2014, a trend that is anticipated to continue over the forecast period (2015–2019).”
