Popular payment methods in Europe

When it comes to online shopping, credit cards still rule the payments landscape in Europe. But alternate payment methods are growing at a fast pace. The latest data shows us again that you can´t see Europe as one region; every country has its own preferred payment methods. Let’s have a look.

This article was written in 2014. If you want more up-to-date information, check out this page on online payment methods in Europe.

Research organization yStats.com released its latest report called “Europe Online Payment Methods: First Half 2014” and it shows that cards account for the largest share of business-to-consumer ecommerce transactions in Europe, while digital wallets are second best.

The United Kingdom
The largest contributor to the growth of card payments in the UK is online payment, with annual growth of over 10%. But contactless cards are gaining in popularity: Earlier this year, the monthly value of these kinds of payments in the UK exceeded 125 million euros for the first time.

Germany
In Germany, invoice is still the most popular payment method for consumers shopping online. For many of them it’s the most secure and the most convenient method. Credit cards and digital wallets however, are one the rise.

France
In France, consumers are more eager to pay for their orders by using a credit card. This payment method is followed by PayPal and similar services. The year-on-year growth of online credit card payments in France slowed to a single-digit percentage in the first months of this year.

Spain and Italy
The preferences of France are comparable with those in Spain, as the two most popular methods in this Southern European country are Bank Credit Card and PayPal. Meanwhile, in Italy online card spending grew year-on-year every single month in 2013.

Sweden, Denmark, Norway and Finland
In Sweden the share of online shoppers preferring to pay with credit card decreased between 2012 and 2013. But the credit card still remains the most popular payment method in Sweden. In Denmark and Norway payments in both ecommerce and mcommerce were dominated by cards, while in Finland online bank transfer leads the pack.

Austria and Switzerland
In Austria, credit card is also the most popular method, both in mcommerce and B2C ecommerce. Online consumers in Switzerland however, are more reager to use invoice when they have to pay for their online orders. The credit card was used by many Swiss shoppers when they were ordering using their smartphone or tablet.

Russia
In Russia, it’s still cash on delivery that’s preferred by most online consumers. But in this country it also seems that credit cards and alternative payments are gaining in popularity. Now more than half of online consumers like to pay on delivery with cash, but almost a quarter of shoppers prefers to pay with a card either online or upon delivery.

The Czech Republic and Turkey
Russia isn’t the only European country where cash on delivery is the most used payment method. This is also the case in the Czech Republic. Not in Turkey, where online shoppers want to pay using a credit card. This share of transactions reached a value of more than 10 billion euros. E-Commerce transaction with cards in Turkey reached a value of over EUR 10 billion.

As you see, there is still a wide variance in preferred payment methods across the regions. And it seems this is something that won’t change overnight.