Research Finds Consumers Are Ditching Card Payments For Local Payments

Boku, the global network for localised payment solutions, has released a global research report entitled ‘2024 Global Ecommerce Report: The Changing World of Payments’ – an in-depth analysis of payment preferences and purchasing behaviours of consumers across the globe.

The report reveals a continued decline in the market share of traditional card payments and a significant increase in the use of local payment methods for ecommerce purchases across the globe.

Produced in collaboration with Juniper Research, the report surveyed 10,500 consumers and analysed data from 37 major markets across the globe to identify global, regional and country specific trends. The findings highlight significant and rapid consumer shifts in ecommerce payments away from the traditional card networks (and in emerging economies cash on delivery) towards local payment methods such as digital wallets.

Account to Account (A2A) payments (instant payments and bank transfers) such as PIX in Brazil, UPI in India, or iDEAL in the Netherlands are revealed as the fastest growing payment method within ecommerce.

Other key findings include:

• Card values will decline to 19% of transaction value by 2028 (down from 31% in 2023). By volume, card payments will account for just 30% of ecommerce transactions in 2028 (down from 41% in 2023)
• By 2028, local payment methods will account for 58% of ecommerce transaction values (up from 47% in 2023), accounting for a majority of transaction value online for the first time
• By 2028, 37% of all individuals globally will actively use local payment methods
• Instant A2A & non-card-linked wallets to account for over 50% of ecommerce transaction value globally by 2028
• Instant A2A payments are forecast to more than double and become the fastest growing local payment method within ecommerce, accounting for 18% of all ecommerce transactions by volume by 2028 globally (up from 8% in 2023)

Payment choice is key for consumers around the world. Today’s mobile-first generations – with whom access to and affinity with card networks is low – prioritise the convenience and seamless nature of paying with digital wallets, direct carrier billing and Instant A2A payments.

As with the adoption of many new technologies, the adoption of localised payment solutions by younger generations and populations is paving the way for adoption by older consumers.

Nick Maynard, VP of Fintech Market Research, at Juniper Research said, “Our research for this report from Boku highlights that against a backdrop of continued strong growth in ecommerce, the global card schemes (credit, debit and card-linked wallets) continue to lose share to regional and local payment methods. This is a trend seen at an aggregate global level but also repeated in every region across the world.“

Stuart Neal, CEO of Boku said, “Our research shows the way the world transacts online is changing fast, and that change is being driven in the main by a consumer preference for convenient, seamless payment methods like digital wallets, direct carrier billing and Account to Account transfers. Merchants now realise that the key to their future global growth and success lies in their ability to offer consumers more payment choice. At Boku, we’re excited to provide the world’s largest merchants with access to our global network of localised payment solutions so their customers can more easily pay for the things they love, the way they want – no matter where they are in the world.” said Stuart Neal, CEO, Boku.

Regional takeaways include:

• Africa & Middle East is in many ways already a local payments and mobile money success story, with the region’s services such as M-PESA and MoMo seeing strong adoption. As such, merchants require highly localised payments strategies in these markets to ensure continued results.
• Asia Pacific payment requirements are changing quickly. While card payments will continue to account for a significant amount of payments – around a third of ecommerce payments by volume by 2028 – local payment methods are fast gaining traction, winning market share from card payments.
• Europe in particular will see a dramatic shift away from cards, with the proportion of ecommerce transaction volume featuring cards dropping from 53% in 2023 to just 30% in 2028. A2A payments will experience massive growth from 16% volume of transactions in 2023 to 25% in 2028, due to the ability it provides in moving money without additional intermediaries.
• Far East & China is a mobile wallet dominated market, with great emphasis on “superapps” such as WeChat and Alipay. Ecommerce payment methods are anticipated to stay somewhat consistent with this over the forecast period with little shift in the payment methods used, due to how well-established the market already is.
• LATAM is a market in motion – ecommerce payment methods are changing rapidly, which means merchants must alter their acceptance strategies, or they will fail to take advantage of ecommerce growth. PIX is the obvious early success story, but CoDi in Mexico, as well as PSE in Colombia are also winners.
• North America is a heavily-developed market in regards to ecommerce, with the majority of consumers having access to bank accounts and plastic cards. One of the greatest concerns for ecommerce consumers across North America is the ability to checkout seamlessly, as well as having the ability to pay in installments resulting in growth of lower friction payment methods such as; Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), A2A payments and non-card-linked wallets.
• The Indian Subcontinent is seeing an increasing shift towards local payment methods, with A2A payments in particular gathering momentum. Local payment methods are anticipated to have a sizable share of payment methods by 2028, equating to 72% of ecommerce transactions by value, an increase from 58% in 2023. India is the largest driver of both volume and value within Indian Subcontinent, therefore it is unsurprising that the highly successful UPI scheme is driving local payments forward, providing a template for future growth.