The Best eCommerce Payment Methods in 11 Countries

Do you know the best ecommerce payment methods for growing sales with your shoppers? Here’s how your global audience prefers to pay.

The best ecommerce payment methods to offer in your online store often depends on the location of your customers. Whether it’s bank transfers, ewallets, local cards or even cash for online payments, knowing your audience and understanding how they prefer to pay is critical for growing your market share wherever you do business.

Cross-border commerce is becoming even more important to businesses as more consumers around the world increase their online shopping habits. 87% of businesses recently surveyed believe cross-border sales are crucial to their future success. (Visa)  If you’re planning on approaching a new market or expanding in an existing one, it’s important to know what the most popular local payment methods are.

We’ve put together a list of some of the most popular payment methods throughout the world, from the following major regions:

• Southeast Asia
• Latin America
• Europe and the UK

See which payment methods are popular where, and learn a little bit about each one. If you don’t already offer these payment options, you can add them, plus hundreds more with Rapyd Collect Online. 

Accept all Payment Methods in this Article, Plus Hundreds More with Rapyd Collect

The Best eCommerce Payment Methods in Asia, Europe and Latin American Countries

Region: Southeast Asia

The use of digital payment methods is growing rapidly all over Asia, for a number of different reasons, Credit cards adoption and banking infrastructure lagged behind mobile adoption in many Southeast Asian countries, leading to digital payment innovations that are now making payments around the world more convenient. Here are the best ecommerce payment methods for merchants looking to grow sales in top Asian markets.

Explore our global payment network to see the payment methods offered in 70+ countries around the world.

India: 

• Paytm eWallet – India’s most popular digital wallet.
• UPI – An instant real-time bank transfer platform.
• Cash for Digital Transactions – Cash is still used for 15% of digital transactions. (J.P. Morgan)

Indonesia: 

• Bank Transfers – 29% of ecommerce payments are made by bank transfer (J.P. Morgan)
• Cash for Digital Transactions – 16% of digital transactions are still paid for with cash. (J.P. Morgan)
• OVO Wallet – A popular ewallet from Indonesia’s leading digital payments platform.
• GrabPay – An popular ewallet from ride-hailing service Grab.

Malaysia: 

• Bank Transfers –  Maybank2u bank transfers are the country’s number one payment method.
• Cash for Digital Transactions – Cash over the counter (such as at a 7-Eleven).
• Boost Wallet – A popular ewallet in Malaysia.
• AliPay – One of the biggest and most well-known ewallets in Asia, it’s grown in popularity outside of China and is increasingly relevant in Southeast Asia.

Singapore: 

• PayNow – A real-time bank transfer technology that lets users make payments to businesses and individuals.
• GrabPay – An ewallet from ride-hailing service Grab.
• WeChat Pay – Another popular Chinese ewallet, important for merchants in Singapore accepting payments from Chinese nationals and travelers.
• China Union Pay Card – A credit card scheme popular in China, also relevant for accepting payments from Chinese nationals and travelers in Singapore.

South Korea: 

• Local Cards – Local cards like Shinhan Card: South Korea has a complex local credit card ecosystem, making it very important for merchants to work with a card acquirer that can accept local cards.
• KakaoPay – A local simple payment method that’s quickly becoming the most popular way to pay for online transactions in South Korea.

Region: Latin America

Latin America has relatively low bank account penetration, with the number of people without a bank account estimated to be around 200 million. That’s why it’s important to accept payment methods that don’t require customers to have a bank account, such as cash via local voucher systems. Here are the best ecommerce payment methods for merchants looking to grow sales in top Latin American and South American markets.

Explore our global payment network to see the payment methods offered in 70+ countries around the world.

Argentina: 

• Cash for Digital Transactions – 40% of online purchases are paid for in cash here, so it’s an important payment method to consider.

Brazil:

• Local Cards – Elo and Hipercard are examples of local cards in Brazil, where less than 20% of purchases made online are made with international cards.
• Boleto Cash Payments – Also known as Boleto Bancário, a Brazilian voucher system that lets individuals pay by cash at various processing locations or at ATMs.
• Bank Transfers –  With only 27% of the population having credit cards, bank transfers are an important payment method to offer as ecommerce adoption grows.

Mexico: 

• Cash for Digital Transactions – Users buy online, then use a QR code to pay in cash at a local store. 
• Bank Transfers – 17% of online transactions in Mexico are paid for via bank transfer. (J.P. Morgan)

Region: Europe and the UK

While much of Europe shares the Euro as its currency, the most popular payment methods still vary from country to country. Credit and debit cards remain many countries’ preferred payment method, but digital systems like ewallets and real-time bank transfers are also widely used. Merchants looking to grow in Europe should make sure their online payment solution offers the following payment methods.

Explore our global payment network to see the payment methods offered in 70+ countries around the world.

France: 

• IBAN Bank Transfer – An IBAN (International Bank Account Number) is an essential bank transfer method for merchants involved in cross-border trade throughout Europe.

United Kingdom: 

• Local Cards – The UK is very similar to the US in terms of payment preferences, and as well as favoring major credit cards like Visa and MasterCard, there are local card options as well.
• Faster Payments Service – FPS is a method of transferring GBP payments in near real-time that’s been popular in the UK since 2008.

Netherlands: 

• iDEAL – iDeal is the dominant bank transfer method in the Netherlands. With 65% of ecommerce transactions paid via bank transfer (J.P. Morgan), iDEAL is an essential payment method to offer.

Even if you currently only serve one region or country, a limited payment processing solution can limit your success. Offering your customers their preferred payment methods will grow your sales, increase loyalty and ensure more customers can buy from you.

Accept all the payment methods in this article, plus hundreds more with Rapyd Collect Online.

Sources:

J.P. Morgan. “Global Payments Report.” Payment Insights, 2020, https://www.jpmorgan.com/merchant-services/insights.

Visa. “Why now is the time to expand your e-business internationally.” 2019, https://mms.businesswire.com/media/20191029005414/en/752747/5/GME_Infographic_10.28-PNG.jpg?download=1.