Payments

When it comes to paying for online purchases, many shoppers use their credit cards, PayPal or bank transfers. But which payment methods are most popular? And what's the difference in payment preferences among different countries across Europe?

The usage of PayPal in Europe is highest in the United Kingdom. That country counted more than 330,000 daily active PayPal users last year.

Silverflow, a new platform that connects to card networks, has announced a 2.6 million euros seed funding round. With this, the Amsterdam-based company that is founded by Adyen alums has now raised 3 million euros in total funding.

PayPal has announced it will allow customers to buy, sell and hold Bitcoin and other crypto coins using its online wallets. Starting in early 2021, customers will also be able to use these virtual coins to shop at the 26 million connected merchants.

Nexi, the biggest payments processor in Italy, has agreed to acquire fintech rival SIA for about 4.6 billion euros. The combined company will be one of Europe's biggest payments companies.

For over half of the nearly 3.5 million online shoppers in Hungary, ecommerce is a frustrating experience. It seems that 9 out of 10 consumers have stopped an online order before checkout was completed.

Ebay will bring its managed payments service to sellers in three new markets in Europe next year. In the first quarter of 2021, eBay will manage payments in France, Italy and Spain.

Mollie, a payments startup from the Netherlands, has raised 90 million euros in a Series B round led by TCV. The payment service provider is now valuated at over 1 billion dollars, making it a unicorn.

German ecommerce company Otto wants to found a subsidiary to handle all payment functions. It's the latest step, and a bold one, in the further development of Otto as an online platform.

MultiSafepay, a Dutch collecting payment service provider, has announced today it will open an office in Germany. By making this step, the company wants to strengthen its German presence and support further growth internationally.

Afterpay has announced plans to buy Pagantis, its European rival. The Australian company is set to pay 50 million euros for the buy-now-pay-later company. The acquisition is part of Afterpay's global expansion plans.

For almost a third of all online shoppers in Germany, purchase on account is the most popular payment method. Last year, this method gained even more sales than in the year before. PayPal ranked second among the payment methods with the highest turnover.

Swedish fintech company Klarna has entered Spain today with the launch of its 'buy now, pay later' service. This service allows shoppers to pay in three interest-free installments at some online retailers across the Southern European country.

Analysis shows that 58 percent of European checkouts have at least three basic errors, which could complicate the checkout process for customers. Many online stores don't automatically verify the card number or they let customers attempt to pay with an expired card date.

Stripe has expanded its payment services in Europe. The American tech company is now generally available in the Czech Republic, Romania, Bulgaria, Cyprus, and Malta. The payments company can now support businesses in 29 countries across Europe.