50 payment and merchant statistics shaping Europe in 2025

Payments in Europe are moving fast in 2025. Instant settlement, digital wallets, and local schemes are reshaping consumer habits. For merchants, these shifts bring both opportunity and complexity. Regulations are pushing banks and PSPs toward instant rails, while consumers demand secure, mobile-first experiences.

To help you plan, we’ve gathered 50 of the most important statistics on payments and merchant activity across Europe in 2025. These numbers highlight adoption patterns, risks, and market trends that every merchant should understand.

Regulation and instant payments

Europe is enforcing new rules to accelerate instant payments:

• The EU Instant Payments Regulation was adopted in March 2024.
  
• Euro-area PSPs must be able to receive instant payments by January 2025 and send them by October 2025.
  
• Charges for instant transfers cannot exceed standard credit transfers starting in 2025.
  
• Verification of Payee becomes mandatory across the euro area in October 2025.
  

TARGET Instant Payment Settlement (TIPS) processed 1.35 billion transactions in 2024, a five-fold increase from previous years. EBA CLEARING’s RT1 handled 95.2 million instant payments in July 2024, showing that instant rails are scaling quickly.

Merchants need to prepare for this shift. For context on why orchestration is better suited to manage regulatory changes than relying on one PSP, see our guide on payment orchestration vs PSPs in Europe.

Consumer payment behavior

Consumer preference is moving steadily toward cashless.

• 55% of euro-area consumers prefer cashless payments for everyday purchases.
  
• 22% still prefer cash, but its share is declining.
  
• 62% of consumers say access to cash remains important, showing that hybrid checkout strategies still matter.
  

Cards and contactless continue to dominate across many markets, while real-time rails and wallets are growing fastest.

United Kingdom

The UK is one of Europe’s most dynamic payment markets:

• Total payments reached 45.6 billion in 2023.
  
• Cards made up 57% of all payments.
  
• Contactless accounted for 38% of payments, with 85% of adults using it regularly.
  
• Mobile contactless adoption is strong: 32% of adults used it monthly.
  
• Faster Payments overtook Direct Debit as the third most used payment method by volume.
  

Fraud remains a challenge: £459.7 million was lost to APP fraud in 2023, across more than 232,000 cases. Reimbursement schemes now cover 99.8% of cases by volume, protecting consumers but adding pressure on banks and merchants to tighten fraud monitoring.

Germany and France

Germany is still heavily reliant on account-to-account methods: Girocard, bank transfers, and invoices remain strong. Real-time SCT Inst adoption is lower than other regions, but regulation is set to increase volume.

France is now card-first. In 2024, card payments overtook cash in-store, with 48% card vs 43% cash by number of transactions. For non-cash payments, cards represent 61% of activity. France is also preparing for Wero, the European Payments Initiative’s wallet, which will expand real-time rails across multiple markets.

For more detail on how wallets are shaping consumer habits in France and beyond, read our analysis of digital wallets in Europe.

Spain and Italy

Spain stands out for Bizum’s dominance:

• 27 million+ users rely on Bizum.
  
• It captures over 50% of Spanish instant transfers.
  
• More than 2.9 million Bizum payments are processed daily.
  

Italy’s PagoPA has increased awareness of real-time payments, especially in public services. This is driving familiarity and preparing consumers to adopt more instant methods in the private sector.

Netherlands and Poland

The Netherlands shows the power of local schemes:

• iDEAL processed 1.47 billion payments in 2024, worth €141 billion.
  
• iDEAL held about 72% share of Dutch online payments.
  
• 80% of in-store payments are now by PIN, with 94% of those contactless.
  
• 45% of contactless transactions are made with a phone or watch.

Poland’s BLIK is another example of national innovation:

• 2.4 billion transactions in 2024, up 37% year on year.
  
• Transaction value totalled PLN 347.3 billion.
  
• 18.5 million active users and nearly half of POS transactions processed as contactless.
  

Nordics

The Nordics lead Europe in wallet adoption:

• Swish processed 1.4 billion payments in 2024, up 41%. It is used by 86% of Swedish adults.
  
• Vipps MobilePay processed 1.4 billion transactions across Denmark, Finland, and Norway in 2024. It has over 6 million merchants and charities connected.
  

For merchants, these markets show how local wallets and instant transfers can displace traditional cards when adoption is broad.

Fraud and security

Fraud remains a core issue for merchants and banks. In SEPA, card fraud dropped to 0.028% of total transaction value in 2022, showing strong progress. Still, APP fraud in the UK and scams across Europe highlight the need for stronger authentication and orchestration to manage fraud prevention tools across PSPs.

E-commerce

E-commerce continues to grow:

• 75% of EU internet users bought goods or services online in 2023.
  
• Business turnover from e-sales reached 20% of total sales.

Consumers expect localized payment methods in their online checkout. Offering only cards risks losing conversions to PayPal, wallets, or local instant transfer options.

To see how these consumer behaviors fit into broader retail expectations, see our report on European retail payment trends in 2025.

Why this matters for merchants

The numbers show three clear lessons for merchants:

1. Real-time is here. Adoption is rising, and regulation will force broader rollout across the euro area.
   
2. Local methods still dominate. Merchants must align with country preferences, from Bizum in Spain to iDEAL in the Netherlands.
   
3. Flexibility matters. The diversity of Europe means no single method works everywhere.
   

Managing this complexity requires more than a single PSP. A payment orchestration platform lets you add, manage, and optimize payment methods across markets, all from one layer.

FAQ

What is the fastest-growing payment method in Europe?

Real-time transfers are growing fastest, driven by SEPA Instant Credit Transfer and national schemes like Bizum and Swish. Regulation is forcing broader adoption across the euro area in 2025.

Are cards still important for European consumers?

Yes. Cards remain the most widely used payment method in countries like the UK and France, but wallets and instant transfers are taking share.

What share of Dutch online payments use iDEAL?

iDEAL holds about 72% of Dutch e-commerce payments, making it the dominant local method for online transactions.

Is fraud still a problem in European payments?

Yes. APP fraud cost UK consumers nearly £460 million in 2023. Card fraud rates in SEPA, however, fell to 0.028% of total value, showing progress in fraud controls.

Do consumers still use cash in Europe?

Yes, but less often. About 22% of euro-area consumers still prefer cash, while most prefer cashless methods. Cash use is highest for small purchases and in certain markets, but declining steadily.

What role does payment orchestration play?

Orchestration allows merchants to integrate multiple PSPs, wallets, and instant rails through one layer. This reduces complexity, ensures compliance, and provides resilience if one provider fails.

Payments in Europe in 2025 are defined by speed, security, and local preference. Real-time rails are scaling fast, fraud risks remain high, and consumers are embracing wallets and national payment schemes. Merchants that adapt see higher conversions, better liquidity, and stronger customer trust.

Payment orchestration makes this possible. It allows you to connect multiple providers, manage compliance, and keep your checkout running even if one provider fails.

Contact Gr4vy to prepare your business for the future of payments in Europe.