Preferred Payment Methods Across Europe

Key points:

• While digital wallets dominate globally, key European e-commerce markets are defined by unique, local payment systems that are essential for gaining consumer trust, such as Blik in Poland and iDEAL in the Netherlands.
• "Buy Now, Pay Later" (BNPL) is exceptionally popular in Germany, where shoppers prefer traditional invoice payments, and in Sweden, the home country of the FinTech solution Klarna.
• The Nordic region highlights Europe's payment diversity: Norway and Sweden favor local solutions like Vipps and Klarna, while Denmark relies on traditional credit/debit cards and Finland on online banking.
• Success in European e-commerce requires a hyper-localized strategy that goes beyond just offering popular global payment methods and adapts to the specific preferences of each country, including local carriers and shipping options.

Each market is different, posing distinct logistical challenges and coming with separate consumer trends. Payment methods are one of such elements. In Poland, people love Blik—a module that displays dynamic 6-digit codes in their mobile phone apps, making it quick and easy to send money from their account. In Germany, invoices are the king, with a specific type of invoice that can be paid up to 14 days after receiving the item.

As we dive into different markets and their preferences, such differences will become even more visible. Therefore, to ensure your success in international e-commerce operations, we’ve prepared this guide to payment method preferences across top European e-commerce markets.

Top Payment Methods Worldwide

Before we inspect the data on the most common payment methods in specific European countries, we have to examine global stats, which will serve as a point of reference. According to the Global Payments Report 2025 by Worldpay, the top methods include:

• Digital wallets: 53%,

• Credit cards: 20%,

• Debit and prepaid cards: 12%,

• Account to Account: 7%,

• Buy Now, Pay Later: 5%,

• Cash: 2%.

Preferred Payment Methods in Top 10 European Markets

Are the global trends reflected in the European markets? Or perhaps you have to consider a separate payment strategy when sending parcels to Germany than when doing so to France or Poland? Here’s an overview from ECDB:

As we can observe that most countries follow the global trends to some extent. However, there are certain outliers when it comes to specific methods.

Germany and Buy Now, Pay Later

Germany has its own unique payment method—an invoice that can be paid up to 14 days after the shipping. The consumers embrace this to test the products out before they decide to keep them, which is reflected in the popularity of Buy Now, Pay Later methods.

Poland and Account to Account

When selling in Poland, you have to absolutely remember about their unique payment method: Blik. It is built into most banking apps and works the following way:

• The user enters the Blik module. For the next two minutes, they have a 6-digit code which they can input to make a payment.

• Once the user typed in the code, they have to confirm the transaction in their banking app.

• Blik can also be used for quick direct transfers—the user does not need to have a full account number of the recipient, as the phone number suffices for Blik.

The method is quick and much more convenient than traditional bank transfers, as there’s no need to input the bank account number. Therefore, it’s extremely popular in Poland, which we can see in the stats.

The Netherlands and Account to Account

The case with the Netherlands is similar to the case in Poland. Here, we have the iDEAL system, which is supported by most leading banks. The system makes it quicker to make purchases and, unlike other payment methods, does not require sensitive data. It’s also cheaper to process for merchants, prompting them to provide iDEAL as a payment method. If you embrace it, it’s a win-win—you pay smaller fees and gain the trust of Dutch consumers.

This is further strengthened by other statistics. As measured by Statista, in 2017 (almost 10 years ago!) iDEAL was offered as a payment method in about 92% of Dutch e-commerce stores.

Sweden and Buy Now, Pay Later

Finally, there is Sweden. As the country of origin of Klarna, this market is characterised by a deep trust in FinTech solutions. Klarna itself offers delayed payments (14 or even 30 days). This, combined with its popularity, leads to a high number of Buy Now, Pay Later payments.

Sweden is also an interesting example of the dualism of the Nordic countries. Finland and Denmark prefer traditional payment methods, with online banking (30%) and credit & debit cards (52%) being the top methods respectively. On the other hand, there is Norway – similarly to Sweden, it uses its own solution: Vipps, chosen by 60% of the consumers!

The Takeaway

Preferred payment methods differ across the world, and Europe is diverse itself. If you enter a new market, you always have to adjust to the customer preferences there: embrace Blik in Poland, Klarna in the Netherlands or invoices in Germany. What does it mean for e-sellers looking to expand their business cross-border?

If you want to sell your products, you have to meet their needs. These include payment methods but go beyond them. You have to provide the customers with relevant shipping methods, trustworthy carriers which they recognize and fast or reliable shipping, depending on the specific market. 

Landmark Global can support you in the process of building a logistics strategy. We go beyond regular shipping, providing legal aid, customs clearance support with our customs brokers in every airport we ship to and a range of carriers, including market leaders, to build trust through delivery.. Contact us now and let’s talk about your success!

References:

1. Worldpay. (2025). Global Payments Report 2025. https://offers.worldpayglobal.com/rs/850-JOA-856/images/GPR25.pdf
2. https://www.statista.com/statistics/558358/market-share-of-online-payment-methods-in-the-netherlands/#:~:text=Consequently%2C%2092%20percent%20of%20online,offered%20far%20less%20that%20year.
3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/456308/leading-payment-methods-for-online-shopping-in-denmark/