“Europe Online Payment Methods: First Half 2016” is the title of the newest release by the Germany-based secondary market research firm yStats.com. According to the company’s CEO & Founder, Yücel Yelken, “Our report shows some important changes taking place in online payments across Europe, such as the growing usage of digital payment systems by online shoppers and a decline in popularity of cash on delivery in selected emerging markets”.
With the payment method preferences of online shoppers in Europe continuing to vary from country to country, the yStats.com publication also reveals that there are several overarching trends forming across the continent and in the sub-regions.
The popularity of cash on delivery, traditionally the most used payment method in multiple Eastern European markets, shows signs of decline as online payment with credit and debit cards rises in popularity. In Russia, bank cards gained more than 20 percentage points in share of online shoppers over the past three years, while the online shoppers’ share who pay in cash on delivery decreased by several percentage points. Also in Turkey and Ukraine online payments with cards demonstrate strong growth.
In Western Europe, bank cards already are the payment method most used by online shoppers in countries such as France, Italy and Norway. However, these and other countries in the Old Continent currently witness a rise in usage of digital payment systems, as the yStats.com report reveals. Also in Germany the number of online shoppers paying by digital payment systems is rising at the expense of the traditional leader in online retail payments in this country – invoice.
A concern in online and mobile payments across Europe is the importance of security both to online shoppers and online retailers, according to yStats.com’s research findings. For example, in Belgium close to a quarter of individuals who do not shop online state payment security concerns as the reason for not buying, and in Greece, the availability of a secure payment method is the top criterion for online shoppers when choosing an online store to buy from.
