Online payment methods in Europe
As customers prefer local payment methods when they are buying products online, online retailers need to be aware of payment trends. Which payment methods are the most popular in Europe and what differences can be seen between countries?
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Online payment methods
To facilitate payments in an online store, you will need to integrate payment methods. To do this, you will need to use a payment provider. They provide an online store with the technical payment gateway between the customer, the payment method and your online store.
Most payment providers (especially the ones based in Europe) have a wide selection of payment methods that you can integrate with your store. It is up to you to select the payment method you want, but it is crucial to select the right one. For 91 percent of consumers, it is important that online stores have their preferred payment methods. If you do not have the right one, a customer could abandon their cart.
There are a lot of popular payment methods in Europe, but their popularity differs per country. Some markets are more card-heavy, others have strong local leaders.
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Local popular payment methods
While card payments like Visa and Mastercard, and digital wallets like PayPal or Apple Pay have a large market share in Europe, there are also some payment methods that are based in Europe. These are:
Wero is digital wallet, and is a product of the European Payments Initiative (EPI). It consists of banks in Belgium, France, Germany and the Netherlands. Together they created a pan-European payment system, that connects to consumer’s bank accounts.
Popular local online payment method in Belgium, Bancontact, facilitates online bank transfers. In 2023, the technology provider behind Bancontact, Payconiq, was acquired. It will become part of Wero, the pan-European payment method.
iDeal is based in the Netherlands, and it is the most popular payment method there. It provides consumers a way to digitally approve payments from their bank account to online stores. It was acquired by EPI and will be rebranded as Wero in 2026.
Founded in 2005 in Sweden, Klarna has become a world leader in buy now, pay later services. It has become a digital bank and also offers savings accounts. It has more than 90 million customers worldwide. It is notably popular in Sweden, Belgium and Spain.
Twint is the most popular local mobile payment method in Switzerland. Users can connect their bank account or cards with the app, and make secure payments. It is used in online stores, as well as in person.
Polish local payment method BLIK is one of the most popular payment methods in the country. It is covered by all major Polish banks, and it is embedded in banking applications.
Swedish fintech company Trustly was founded in 2008. It enables customers to complete transactions directly from their bank accounts. This provides an alternative to card-based payments.
Based in Norway, Vipps is a digital wallet that is popular in the Nordics. With the mobile app, sending money is almost like sending a text. Payments are made to a receiver’s telephone number instead of an account number. It also created other digital commerce solutions.
Popular payment methods per country
We have already mentioned that it is important to know popular online payment methods in the country where you are going to sell. In the previous section, we have described several local fintech companies.
But now we will also get into the most popular payment systems per market in Europe. The list also includes payment methods that are not from Europe, as some of those are also popular in these markets. The percentages are based on the share of consumers saying that the payment method was their preferred one.
The United Kingdom
The list of the most popular payment methods in the United Kingdom is:
- Cards: 73 percent
- PayPal: 66 percent
- Direct Debit: 45 percent
- Apple Pay: 21 percent
- Open banking/bank transfer: 20 percent
- Google Pay: 19 percent
- Klarna: 8 percent
- Other BNPL methods: 5 percent
Germany
In Germany, these are popular payment methods:
- PayPal: 67 percent
- Purchase on account/invoice: 40 percent
- Cards: 36 percent
- Direct Debit: 31 percent
- SEPA bank transfer: 29 percent
- SOFORT: 15 percent
- Google Pay: 10 percent
- Apple Pay: 10 percent
- Giropay: 9 percent
- Purchase in installments/financing: 7 percent
The Netherlands
In the Netherlands, these are popular payment methods:
- iDEAL: 66 percent
- PayPal: 47 percent
- Cards: 39 percent
- Klarna: 21 percent
- Apple Pay: 16 percent
- Google Pay: 12 percent
- Direct debit: 10 percent
- SEPA bank transfer: 10 percent
- Riverty: 6 percent
- Other BNPL methods: 6 percent
- SOFORT: 3 percent
- In3: 3 percent
France
In France, these are popular payment methods:
- Cards: 71 percent
- PayPal: 57 percent
- SEPA bank transfer: 20 percent
- Direct debit: 19 percent
- Apple Pay: 14 percent
- Google Pay: 14 percent
- Klarna: 9 percent
- Other BNPL methods: 5 percent
Belgium
In Belgium, these are popular payment methods:
- Bancontact: 73 percent
- Cards: 41 percent
- PayPal: 39 percent
- KBC/CBC Betaalknop: 18 percent
- Klarna: 14 percent
- Direct debit: 9 percent
- SEPA Bank transfer: 9 percent
- Apple Pay: 8 percent
- Belfius: 8 percent
- Other BNPL methods: 6 percent
- Google Pay: 5 percent
- SOFORT: 2 percent
