ONLINE PAYMENTS
STATISTICS 2026

Credit and debit cards remain the backbone of global online payments. Despite increasing competition from digital wallets and alternative payment methods, cards continue to dominate e-commerce transactions in most Western markets. The rise of tokenization, 3D Secure 2.0, and network tokenization has made card payments more secure and convenient than ever.

Key credit card statistics 2025/2026

• 34% of all global e-commerce transactions are paid by credit or debit card, though this share is declining as digital wallets gain ground (Statista Digital Payments, 2025)
• More than 580 billion card transactions were processed worldwide in 2025, with a total value exceeding $46 trillion (Nilson Report)
• Visa holds a 39% global market share by transaction volume, followed by Mastercard (24%), UnionPay (28%, predominantly China), and American Express (4%) (Nilson Report 2025)
• The average online credit card transaction value is $112, significantly higher than digital wallet transactions at $74 (Adyen Global Payments Report)
• Card fraud rates dropped to 0.07% of transaction value globally, driven by 3D Secure 2.0 adoption and AI-powered fraud detection (Nilson Report)
• In the US, 83% of adults have at least one credit card, compared to 55% in Europe and 21% in Southeast Asia (Federal Reserve/ECB/Statista)
• Network tokenization increased card approval rates by 2.1 percentage points on average, representing billions in recovered revenue (Visa)
• The card-not-present (CNP) fraud rate is 5x higher than card-present fraud, driving investment in authentication technology (ECB)

Card market share trends

While cards still lead globally, their market share in e-commerce is gradually declining as digital wallets and alternative payment methods gain traction. In Asia-Pacific, digital wallets already surpass cards.

• 2020: 41% global e-commerce share (Statista)
• 2021: 39% — accelerated shift to digital wallets during COVID (Statista)
• 2022: 37% — continued decline as BNPL gained ground (Statista)
• 2023: 36% — stabilization in Western markets (Statista)
• 2024: 35% — digital wallets closed the gap (Statista)
• 2025: 34% — wallets expected to overtake cards globally by 2027 (Statista/Worldpay)

Buy Now Pay Later is one of the fastest-growing payment segments globally. Despite increasing regulation in the EU, Australia, and the UK, adoption continues to rise — particularly among younger consumers. For online stores, offering BNPL can measurably increase conversion rates.

Global BNPL market

• The global BNPL transaction volume reached $334 billion in 2025, growing 22% year-over-year (Juniper Research)
• Klarna is the global leader with 150+ million users across 45 markets, followed by Afterpay/Block (22 million active users) and Affirm (18 million users) (Company reports)
• BNPL accounts for 5% of global e-commerce transactions, but reaches 11% in fashion and 9% in electronics (Worldpay Global Payments Report)
• 30% of consumers aged 18-34 use BNPL regularly, compared to just 8% of those over 55 (McKinsey Consumer Survey 2025)
• The average BNPL order value is $89, 27% higher than the average order value with direct payment (Mollie)
• Stores offering BNPL report a 14% higher conversion rate than those without (Klarna Merchant Report 2025)
• Return rates for BNPL purchases are 24%, nearly double the average return rate of 13% (industry average)
• 3.2% of BNPL users have payment arrears, though this has declined with stricter credit checks (various regulators)

BNPL regulation and impact

• Since November 2025, BNPL falls under the EU Consumer Credit Directive — credit checks are now mandatory for amounts over €50 in the EU
• In the US, the CFPB has classified BNPL providers as credit card companies, subjecting them to similar disclosure and dispute resolution requirements
• Average merchant fees for BNPL range from 3.2-5.8% of transaction value, significantly higher than card processing (1.5-2.5%) (Mollie)
• Despite regulation, Juniper Research projects the global BNPL market will reach $560 billion by 2028

Contactless payments have gone from novelty to norm across most developed markets. The COVID-19 pandemic accelerated adoption dramatically, and the trend has only intensified since. Cash usage continues to decline globally.

Contactless payment key figures

• 73% of all card payments in Europe are now contactless, with leading countries including the Czech Republic (95%), the Netherlands (93%), and the UK (82%) (ECB, 2025)
• In the US, contactless adoption reached 48% of in-store card transactions, up from 32% in 2023 (Visa US Consumer Report)
• Contactless payment limits have been increased globally: £100 in the UK, €100 in most EU countries, and $200+ in Australia (various central banks)
• Wearable payments (smartwatches, rings, bands) account for 2.3% of all contactless transactions and grew 68% YoY (Mastercard Europe)
• The average contactless transaction takes 4 seconds, compared to 12 seconds for a chip-and-PIN payment (various payment networks)
• 96% of payment terminals in Europe now accept contactless payments (Worldline, 2025)

Cash vs. digital

• Cash usage has dropped to 20% of all transactions in Europe, down from 72% a decade ago. In the Netherlands it is just 16% (ECB/DNB, 2025)
• In Sweden, cash accounts for only 8% of transactions, making it one of the world's most cashless societies (Riksbank)
• In the US, 41% of consumers go an entire week without using cash (Federal Reserve Diary of Consumer Payment Choice)
• Despite declining use, 76% of Europeans believe cash should remain available as a payment option (ECB Consumer Survey)

Checkout abandonment — when shoppers leave before completing their purchase — is one of the biggest challenges in e-commerce. Payment methods play a crucial role. An optimized checkout can recover thousands of dollars in lost revenue.

Global checkout abandonment figures

• The average global checkout abandonment rate is 70.2% (Baymard Institute, meta-analysis of 49 studies)
• On mobile, abandonment reaches 76%, compared to 58% on desktop — an 18 percentage point difference (Statista Digital Commerce)
• The top 5 reasons for checkout abandonment (Baymard Institute / Mollie, 2025):
  • Unexpected extra costs (shipping, tax): 48%
  • Required to create an account: 26%
  • Checkout process too long or complex: 17%
  • Preferred payment method not available: 13%
  • Website not trustworthy enough: 12%
• Stores going from 3 to 5+ payment methods see an average 12% reduction in checkout abandonment (Adyen Global Payments Report)
• One-click checkout (via Apple Pay, Google Pay, or saved credentials) reduces abandonment by 22% (Adyen)
• Guest checkout (no account required) reduces abandonment by 14% compared to mandatory registration (Baymard Institute)
• Stores with an optimized payment page (few steps, clear progress, all popular methods) achieve abandonment of just 48% — 22 points below the average (Mollie)

Revenue impact

• The estimated global revenue lost to checkout abandonment is $260 billion per year (Baymard/Statista calculation)
• A 1% reduction in global abandonment represents approximately $3.7 billion in recovered e-commerce revenue
• Cart recovery emails have an average open rate of 41% and a conversion rate of 9.7% (Klaviyo E-commerce Report 2025)

The PSD2 directive (Payment Services Directive 2) has fundamentally transformed the European payment landscape. Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) has made payments safer, while open banking is creating new opportunities for innovative payment solutions — with global ripple effects as similar regulation spreads to other regions.

PSD2 impact

• Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) has been fully enforced in Europe since late 2020 — two-factor authentication is required for online payments above €30
• Online payment fraud in Europe declined by 38% since full SCA implementation (European Central Bank Payment Statistics 2025)
• 24% of merchants reported a temporary conversion drop due to extra authentication steps at launch — now largely recovered through improved UX and exemptions (Adyen)
• Transaction Risk Analysis (TRA) exemptions are applied to 34% of e-commerce transactions, allowing low-risk payments to proceed without SCA (Worldline)
• Average checkout time increased by 8 seconds due to SCA, but 67% of consumers accept this for extra security (various consumer surveys)

Open banking globally

• 500+ institutions hold PSD2 licenses across the EU for account information (AISP) and/or payment initiation (PISP) services (EBA Register, 2025)
• 14% of European fintechs are actively building on open banking APIs for direct account-to-account payments (EBA Fintech Monitor)
• Account-to-account payments via open banking grew by 156% in 2025, though from a small base (Statista)
• The upcoming PSD3 directive (expected 2027) will strengthen open banking with improved API standards and a broader scope (European Commission)
• Embedded finance — integrating financial services into non-financial platforms — grew by 89% in Europe in 2025 (McKinsey European Payments Report)
• In the UK, the open banking framework has processed over 10 billion API calls since launch (Open Banking Implementation Entity)

The payment landscape is changing faster than ever. New technologies, regulation, and consumer expectations are reshaping how we pay. These are the key trends that will define digital payments in the coming years.

1. Instant payments and real-time settlement

• The EU mandates instant payments for all banks in the eurozone — all transfers will be real-time (ECB, implementation 2025-2027)
• The US FedNow instant payment system, launched in 2023, now reaches 700+ financial institutions (Federal Reserve)
• Request-to-pay functionality — initiating payments directly from invoices and emails — is expected to reach 15% adoption by 2028
• Real-time payments reduce DSO (Days Sales Outstanding) by an average of 4.2 days for B2B merchants (McKinsey)

2. Biometric authentication

• 61% of consumers globally prefer fingerprint or facial recognition over passwords for payment confirmation (various surveys)
• FIDO2/passkey authentication for payments is growing at 124% per year (FIDO Alliance)
• Prediction: within 3 years, 50%+ of all online payments will be authenticated via biometrics (McKinsey Payments Report)

3. Embedded payments and super-apps

• Embedded finance — payments integrated into non-financial apps — grew by 89% across Europe and the US (McKinsey)
• In-app payments (social media, messaging) account for 3.4% of all online transactions, expected to grow to 8% by 2028 (Statista)
• Super-apps combining payments, shopping, and financial services are expanding beyond Asia into Western markets

4. AI in payments

• AI-powered fraud detection catches 94% of fraud attempts, up 16 percentage points since 2022 (Adyen)
• Dynamic checkout optimization with AI (showing the right payment method based on customer profile) increases conversion by 8-15% (Mollie)
• Predictive analytics for payment routing reduces transaction costs by an average of 12% for larger merchants (McKinsey)

5. Crypto and CBDCs

• Only 2.4% of online merchants globally accept cryptocurrency as a payment method (Chainalysis, 2025)
• The digital euro (CBDC) from the ECB is in its preparation phase with an expected launch in 2028 (ECB Digital Euro Project)
• Over 130 countries are exploring or developing their own CBDC (Atlantic Council CBDC Tracker)
• Stablecoin payments grew by 67% globally, primarily for B2B cross-border transactions (Chainalysis)

6. Sustainable payments

• 34% of consumers consider it important that payment providers practice sustainability (various consumer surveys)
• CO2 tracking per transaction is now offered by major banks in Europe, the UK, and Australia in their mobile apps
• Paper receipts have been replaced by digital versions at 67% of major retailers globally (various industry reports)