How Emerging Markets Are Redefining Global Growth Through Digital Commerce

More people, more mobile, more digital

Emerging markets are not just growing fast, they are growing differently. Across Africa & the Middle East, Asia, and Latin America, new consumers are moving straight into mobile-first commerce. Smartphones, prepaid access, QR codes and SuperApps shape their financial lives.

By 2035, emerging economies will generate two-thirds of global growth, but the real story is the consumers driving it

Nearly 90% of Gen Z and Millennials will live here, and the middle class will double by 2030. This demographic shift brings billions of new consumers into the digital economy, directly reshaping how global businesses must plan for checkout design, acceptance, and digital readiness.

It’s not just the size of these markets, it’s also the profile of their populations that matters. They are mobile-native, urbanizing quickly, and financially active in ways that differ from older generations in more mature economies. In sub-Saharan Africa, the median age is 19 and in South Asia, 27. These young demographics are shaping an eCommerce landscape built around eWallets, instant rails, and prepaid models, not necessarily credit lines.

“The most important growth story in global commerce isn’t unfolding in traditional centers. It’s taking shape in the dynamic, fast-growing economies of the Global South.” — Pedro Arnt, CEO of dLocal

Behavior leads, systems adapt

Payments in emerging markets are driven by behavior, not always infrastructure. Findings from our Emerging Markets Payments Handbook 2025 show that consumers often transact online even before regulation or rails are fully mature. They use mobile access through prepaid devices, move informal income streams into eWallets and instant rails, rely on QR codes, SuperApps, and link-based checkouts, and demand transparency and recognition at checkout more than speed alone.

This dynamic creates a distinct operational reality: checkout is a trust and conversion moment. For businesses, conversion depends on local familiarity. If checkout flows don’t reflect trusted local payment rails and familiar eWallet interfaces, drop-off rates rise significantly, making eCommerce localization strategies essential for conversion.

Payment experts understand this as a shift in checkout logic, from processing to cultural alignment:

A cart that fails to show Pix in Brazil or GCash in the Philippines isn’t incomplete technically, it’s incomplete culturally

How demographics shape spending

The impact of demographics goes beyond numbers, changing how people spend money:

● Prepaid orientation → Many consumers in emerging markets prefer to pay as they go. Salaries might be more irregular or informal, so wallets and top-ups act as the budgeting mechanism.
● Micro-purchases → High-frequency, low-ticket transactions are common: rides, delivery, mobile gaming. But these add up to enormous volume for merchants who support eWallets and QR flows.
● Aspirational purchases → Growing middle classes show a high willingness to pay for travel, education, and branded goods. Installments are simply crucial for these higher-ticket items.
● Cross-border appetite → Even when local economies face inflation or volatility, consumers continue to buy global products. They simply demand to pay in the rails they know. 
● Remittances → Billions of dollars flow into EMs each year, often landing directly in wallets and digital accounts. For some corridors, stablecoins are emerging as a faster, lower-cost settlement layer.

For merchants, the challenge is not only technical integration, but also matching the lived reality of these consumers at checkout.

APMs: the operating system of everyday money

In emerging markets, alternative payment methods (APMs) are not niche options. They are the operating system of commerce:
● eWallets as ecosystems → Yape in Peru, GCash in the Philippines, Paga in Nigeria: eWallets in these markets don’t move money, store salaries, pay bills, issue micro-loans, and anchor daily financial life.
● Mobile money as banking → Across Africa, wallets linked to SIM cards function as the primary financial service. For millions, this is their bank account.
● Bank transfers → Established A2A methods like PSE in Colombia are widely used for bill payments and eCommerce.
● Real-time payments (RTPs) → A wave of instant rails like Pix in Brazil, UPI in India, DuitNow in Malaysia, and Colombia’s new Bre-B have raised the bar for 24/7 settlement.
● Cash-to-digital bridges → Vouchers and over-the-counter networks remain critical in cash-heavy markets. Boleto in Brazil, OXXO in Mexico, and Fawry in Egypt bring first-time users online.
● BNPL and installments → Especially in LATAM, installments are a cultural expectation. Whether via eWallets, cards, or merchant BNPL, splitting payments drives affordability and conversion.

APMs are how merchants meet consumers where they actually pay. Without them, they might be absent at the decision point.

How consumers actually use APMs

Looking beyond categories, consumer use of APMs follows distinct patterns:
● Subscriptions through top-ups → In prepaid economies, consumers keep streaming and gaming services alive through wallet-based top-ups rather than stored cards.
● Installments as default → Particularly in LATAM, installments are the cultural expectation, not just luxury goods.
● Everyday spending → QR payments at food stalls in Southeast Asia, mobile money for taxis in East Africa, wallet-linked delivery in LATAM, small but constant flows build payment habits.

Local cards as a cornerstone

Alongside APMs, local cards remain one of the most important ways to pay in emerging markets. Often, they are tightly linked to installments, making them essential for affordability and reach. In many cases, global cards have limited penetration, so domestic card schemes and locally issued cards are part of the backbone of digital commerce.

Key takeaways for payment experts

Innovation in payments is no longer something emerging markets adopt from elsewhere, it often starts there. For merchants, this means emerging market consumers are shaping product roadmaps. The flows that work in Lagos or Manila today will set the expectation for Toronto or Berlin tomorrow.

As noted at the start, emerging markets are changing the way global commerce works. That difference comes through most clearly at checkout, where trust and conversion depend on payment methods that feel familiar to local consumers. 
Growth follows relevance, and relevance begins at checkout. For merchants, future success will come down to being present with the right local options at the moment of choice.

To go further, our Emerging Markets Payments Handbook 2025 unpacks consumer behavior, local payment rails, and the trends shaping global eCommerce growth.

About dLocal

dLocal powers local payments in emerging markets, connecting global enterprise merchants with billions of emerging market consumers across APAC, the Middle East, Latin America, and Africa. Through the “One dLocal” concept (one direct API, one platform, and one contract), global companies can accept payments, send payouts, and settle funds globally without the need to manage multiple local entities and integrations. For more information, visit www.dlocal.com 

* External sources:
- Source: By 2035, emerging economies will generate two-thirds of global growth here.
- Sources 1 and 2: Nearly 90% of Gen Z and Millennials will live here, and the middle class will double by 2030.