A Guide to the Popular E-Commerce Payment Methods

Aligning your shop’s payment options with customer preferences is an easy way to close sales while optimizing and automating the checkout process. So, which payment methods do customers prefer? Samcart is here with the complete guide to popular e-commerce payment options.

Popular Mobile Wallets

Mobile wallets have skyrocketed in popularity in recent years, with researchers expecting the mobile payment industry to reach $273.1 Billion by 2028. This leaves online businesses struggling to juggle a wide variety of potential payment options. The right e-commerce platform will help you accept the most popular mobile wallets. However, if you are working independently to keep up with the latest mobile payment options, here are some of the top contenders:

• PayPal: The PayPal platform reported 435 million users in 2022.
• Google Pay: Globally, Google Pay has over 150 million users, and it accounts for 14.9% of the local market share.
• Apple Pay: The Apple Pay platform had an estimated 45.4 million users in 2022.

With millions of users accessing mobile wallets daily, it is easy to understand why compatibility with these payment options is crucial to online businesses.

Online Credit and Debit Card Payments

Despite the growing popularity of mobile payments, credit and debit cards are still holding strong—accounting for 35.1% of online transactions. Debit cards are responsible for 12.3% of e-commerce purchases. These cards act like cash, removing money directly from a buyer’s bank account upon purchase. While the branding of a customer’s card might depend on the issuing bank, most debit cards are processed through Visa or Mastercard. More specifically, the most popular debit cards are:

• Visa (54.42% market share)
• Mastercard (22.14% market share)
• Domestic debit cards (15.54% market share)
• Private label cards (7.56% market share)
• ACH cards (.34% market share)

Credit cards are responsible for 22.8% of e-commerce transactions. These cards use money paid directly from a buyer’s bank—which your customer is contracted to repay at a later date. Credit cards give customers more buying power in your online store. According to Shift, there are four major credit cards your online shop should accept:

• Visa (52.8% market share)
• Mastercard (31.6% market share)
• Discover (8.1% market share)
• American Express (7.5% market share)

The Growing Importance of Buy Now, Pay Later

Almost any payment method can be combined with a buy now, pay later (BNPL) platform—like Klarna, Afterpay, and Affirm. This popular payment option gives consumers more control over how their purchases align with their paychecks. Partnering with buy now, pay later options can help customers manage their finances while boosting revenue for creators and online sellers. Experts from RBC Capital Markets estimate that BNPL services can increase sale rates by up to 30% while increasing average order value by up to 50%. The buy now, pay later structure is a short-term, interest-free installment loan. Across popular platforms, customers are only charged by BNPL services for missed payments and extended loan terms. According to Yipitdata, the most popular BNPL platform is Affirm, holding 40% of the US market share. Overall, the most popular buy now, pay later options include:

• Affirm (40% market share)
• Klarna (19.6% market share)
• Afterpay (16.4% market share)
• PayPal Pay In 4 (11% market share)

Most of these buy now, pay later platforms break up the customer’s purchase into four payments. The first payment is made upfront when the buyer checks out from your online store. The following 3 payments are scheduled out, often every two weeks. It is easy to see why buy now, pay later options are quickly becoming the preferred option for many e-commerce buyers.

Flexible E-Commerce Payments with SamCart

SamCart’s e-commerce platform has everything creators need to monetize and profit. Our SamPay system lets creators accept all the most popular online payment options. You can get started for free with a SamCart trial or download our free mini-book on checkout automation today!