“Europe Online Payment Methods 2020” is a new market report released by yStats.com, a leading international secondary market research company based in Hamburg, Germany. The publication points out that online shoppers in Europe demand secure and convenient payment methods, while competition among payment providers is intensifying.
Cards and digital wallets are at the top of online shoppers’ preferences
Online shoppers across Europe are diverse when it comes to the choice of payment methods in an online store. Debit and credit cards and E-Wallets such as PayPal are leading by aggregate share of digital buyers in the region, but in selected countries, other alternative payment methods also play a major role. These include payment by invoice in DACH countries and the Nordics, digital banking payments in the Netherlands, and cash on delivery in selected Eastern European markets. Lack of preferred payment methods available at checkout lead to a higher cart abandonment rate, according to recent research cited by yStats.com.
Choice of payment methods determined by security and convenience
The two main considerations of Europe’s digital buyers when choosing a method to pay an E-Commerce merchant are security and convenience, according to surveys referenced in the yStats.com report. To shoppers in Germany and Spain, security has a clear lead over convenience, while digital buyers in the UK were split on the matter of which of the two factors is more important in their online payment experience. The implementation of the Strong Customer Authentication requirements in the European Economic Area is expected to help booth security of online shopping transactions, but there is also a fear of higher purchase drop-out rates as a result of additional verification steps.
Online and mobile payment competition intensifies
Overall, the volume of online and mobile payments in Europe is increasing, projected to reach nearly 1 trillion U.S. dollars by 2024. As a result, the rivalry among payment providers is becoming more intense. Figures cited by yStats.com reveal that the market’s top PSPs are seeing double-digit growth rates in the payment volumes processed, while at the same time, new market leaders are appearing through M&A and investment rounds.
