Moody’s credit electronic payments for creating over 13,000 jobs in Singapore

Higher usage of electronic payments – such as credit, debit and pre-paid cards – helped create more than 13,000 jobs in Singapore between 2011 and 2015 due to an increase in the country’s consumption. Reported by Straitstimes.com

Electronic payments also contributed a total of S$1.7 billion to Singapore’s gross domestic product (GDP), according to a report by Moody’s Analytics Study released on Tuesday (April 12). The global study, conducted by Moody’s on behalf of credit card company Visa, analyzed the impact of electronic payments on economic growth across 70 countries, including Singapore, over a five-year period.

According to the study, consumption in Singapore was 0.99 per cent higher between 2011 and 2015 than it would have been if the use of electronic payments such as credit cards had not grown. The boost in transactions led to an additional S$1.7 billion to Singapore’s GDP between 2011 and 2015, and an extra 13,500 new jobs due to the additional demand for goods and services created through use of electronic payments.

Moody’s economists also estimate that 2.6 million new jobs were created on average each year as a result of the increased use of electronic payments. The 70 countries make up almost 95 per cent of global GDP. The impact of mobile phone payments was not included in the study. Moody’s estimates that the widespread use of mobile payments in markets such as Singapore may lead to an even greater positive impact on GDP than traditional electronic payment channels alone.