In Southeast Asia, real-time payment schemes are entering the mainstream with many consumers now favoring the payment option over cash, a shift caused by changing payment necessities and preferences amid the COVID-19 pandemic, a new research by industry player ACI Worldwide and market research firm YouGov found. Out of 6,000 consumers surveyed across Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore and Malaysia, 61% selected real-time digital payment schemes as their preferred way to pay in 2021 – neck and neck with cash, and higher than digital wallets requiring cash or card top-ups (56%) and credit cards (30%). Thailand and Singapore are the biggest adopters of real-time digital payment, with 72% and 64% of respondents, respectively, favoring the payment method.