The growth is driven by consumers demanding speed and convenience, and by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rapidly shifting to QR payments
With growth supported by the cash-to-digital shift, smartphone and internet reach, policy pushes around QR standards, Southeast Asia is on track to process around USD 680 billion through point-of-sale (POS) devices by 2028, as per a report by Redseer Strategy Consultants.
POS platforms are evolving into multi-functional interfaces for consumers and merchants. The report noted that the terminal is turning into a software surface for both sides of the counter. Vietnam is set to contribute around 14 to 16 per cent of the total such transactions, with Malaysia accounting for 12 to 14 per cent.
The report added that the growth is driven by consumers demanding speed and convenience, and by small and medium enterprises (SMEs) rapidly shifting to QR payments and SoftPOS, which turn smartphones into payment terminals. Government-led digitisation efforts are driving merchant adoption. The report added that offline digitisation is expanding beyond the tier-1 cities as micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) adopt such systems for retail payments.
“Merchants bundle acceptance with inventory, billing, customer management, and simple reconciliation, and they unlock finance using sales data. The result is daily engagement and data capture at the point of sale, which supports use cases from healthy food retail to everyday wellness,” the report pointed out.
The report emphasised that the landscape is crowded yet healthy with regional suites and local specialists, and it is moving toward a platform-led scale. Winners will pair a common product spine with country-specific go-to-market and service quality, while consolidation and partnerships bring regulated rails and distribution.
Winning POS platforms in Southeast Asia will expand beyond payments into full-stack merchant solutions, it said, while adding that QR and SoftPOS lower onboarding friction for very small merchants and similar engagement loops are visible in other consumer services
