Preferred payment methods in Europe 2021

Online retailers in Europe need to offer all kinds of payment methods if they want to reach as many customers as possible. Every country has its own preferences. Let’s have a look at the preferred payment methods in Europe in 2021.

There are so many online payment methods in Europe. As an online retailer operating on this continent you don’t need to offer them all at once. But it is however recommended to adapt your checkout page to the country of destination.

Research from Payvision shows that e-wallets are Europe’s preferred payment method when shopping online, as 44 percent of consumers tell they use this. Payments by card are a close second, with 42 percent, followed by PayPal (32 percent).

Preferred payment methods in Europe 2021

Here’s Europe’s choice of payment method when buying online:

Payvision has also revealed a list of payment methods preferred in individual countries. On their website they have made a tool to help ecommerce companies deciding on which payment methods to offer their customers in certain countries.

The United Kingdom

According to the research, online shoppers in the United Kingdom average at 2-3 credit and debit cards per person. Among these methods, Visa and Mastercard are the firm favorites.

The Netherlands

iDEAL is a bank transfer system that’s covered by all Dutch banks and is used to complete over 60 percent of all ecommerce transactions in the Netherlands. So, basically, you can’t take yourself serious as an online retailer in the Netherlands without offering this payment method!

Germany

According to Payvision, Amazon Pay is the top method chosen by 21 percent of ecommerce merchants in Germany to add to their payment mix.

Belgium

Bancontact is a Belgian payment method offered by both local and foreign ecommerce companies. Consumers in Belgium aren’t strangers to international shops, as almost 50 percent of Belgians choose to buy online from merchants based in other EU countries. This shows, for example, in the top 10 online stores in Belgium.

Italy

In Italy, Carta Si is the leader in electronic money, with over 2 billion transactions and 13 million cards in circulation.

Spain

For Spanish shoppers, the most important feature of any online payment method is how secure it is. So make sure that when you’re an online retailer looking to expand to Spain, to emphasize – for example, on your checkout page – how secure the offered payment methods are.

France

Almost a quarter of online shoppers in France prefer to shop on an ecommerce website that offers alternative payment methods.