Recorded live at the MEF Leadership Forum APAC in January 2026, hosted at Sam Media’s Kuala Lumpur office, this featured discussion brought together Adam Lee, Chief Product Officer at Boku, and Guillermo Escofet, Programme Director & Advisor at the Mobile Ecosystem Forum (MEF).
Together, they unpacked the rapid evolution of Asia-Pacific’s alternative payments landscape, exploring how direct carrier billing (DCB), mobile wallets, and instant banking interact across regional markets.
Key takeaways from this discussion
Far from being pushed aside by the rise of e-wallets, Direct Carrier Billing (DCB) continues to carve out a surprisingly resilient growth story across APAC. In mature digital hubs like Japan, South Korea, and Taiwan, consumers still overwhelmingly rely on the simplicity of the post-paid invoice to power their online lives. This isn’t a story of survival through conflict, but of comfortable coexistence. Mobile wallets found their stride as digital prepaid debit cards, whereas DCB acts as a frictionless monthly credit line.
Because digital content consumers rarely favored prepaid options to begin with, the e-wallet boom expanded the ecosystem without eating into DCB’s loyal base. For telecom operators, the writing on the wall is clear: acting as a silent, backend payment pipe is a dead end. To thrive in a crowded market, forward-thinking telcos are transforming into indispensable growth engines, using their massive audience reach to help global giants recruit and retain users, while unlocking new revenue through tailored Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) offerings.
Meanwhile, stand-alone e-wallets are feeling the squeeze as razor-thin payment margins collide with the rise of instant bank transfers. The survivors of this wave aren’t just payment apps anymore; they’ve expanded into sprawling, full-spectrum “super-apps” that handle everything from digital banking to daily lifestyle needs.
Yet for all the industry buzz about merchants dodging heavy app store fees, the status quo remains tough to break. Shifting users away from native in-app checkouts toward external web portals still creates enough friction to stall conversion, leaving established app store ecosystems comfortably in the driver’s seat.
Save the Date: MEF Leadership Forum APAC 2027
Building on the success of our 2026 gathering, Sam Media will once again host the MEF Leadership Forum APAC at our Malaysian office in Kuala Lumpur on 18 January 2027.
Join Adam Lee, Guillermo Escofet, and leading executives from mobile operators, digital merchants, and fintech innovators to shape the future of mobile commerce across Asia-Pacific.
👇 Be part of the regional discussion:
