Closing the Gap

The Graphic Truth: Mobile payments around the world

An infographic showing global digiatl payments
GZERO Media

Mobile payments took off during the pandemic, and there's no going back. Contactless payments using your phone are now king in many parts of the world, like China, where cash is becoming an afterthought. But adoption has been uneven, with Asia leading the way and Latin America struggling to keep pace. Meanwhile, people in sub-Saharan Africa are digging low-tech mobile payment solutions that work on simple cellphone networks. We look at which regions will dominate these transactions in the future and which are the most popular platforms globally, highlighting a few select markets.

More For You

QatarEnergy's liquefied natural gas production facilities, amid the US-Israeli conflict with Iran, in Ras Laffan Industrial City, Qatar, on March 2, 2026.
REUTERS/Stringer

The US-Israeli war with Iran has badly damaged oil & gas producers in the Gulf and consumers in the Indo-Pacific. But not all countries within those regions will feel the pain equally.

A Russian LNG tanker, Arctic Metagaz, damaged earlier this month and currently adrift without crew, floats in international waters in the Mediterranean Sea between Malta and the Italian islands of Lampedusa and Linosa, in this handout picture released on March 13, 2026.
Marina Militare/Handout via REUTERS

700: The tons of fuel and liquefied natural gas aboard a Russian tanker that is currently floating around the Mediterranean Sea unmanned, after a drone attack earlier this month prompted the crew to abandon ship.