E-commerce: popular payment methods in Germany

PayPal was the most popular method used to pay for a product bought online in Germany as of 2022. 46 percent of respondents to the corresponding survey favored this way, while other leading methods included paying by invoice or with a card (debit or credit).

How it works

After creating an online account with PayPal, as long as the online service or shop consumers are using offers a PayPal option, the payment processor can be used. Consumers are temporarily directed to PayPal during the checkout process, where they can further pick whether the payment should be booked from their credit card or directly from their debit account. After completing this step, the buyer is returned to the initial website where the purchase took place. Many prefer PayPal for its time-saving contribution, as all the necessary bank information is already stored in the PayPal account and does not have to be entered repeatedly for the purchase, or saved on the retailer’s website.

PayPal is a pal

Statistics confirm that Germany has, indeed, embraced PayPal with open arms. As of 2023, it was the leading country worldwide in terms of PayPal usage for online shopping, with a 90 percent rate. The United Kingdom (UK) and Italy followed. India, South Korea, and China had the lowest rates.

Which of the following methods do you prefer to use when you pay for a product you've bought online?

Characteristic	Share of respondents
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Release date

November 2022

More information

Region

Germany

Survey time period

four waves from June to September 2022

Number of respondents

2,038 respondents

Age group

18-75 years

Method of interview

Online survey

Supplementary notes

* The source provides the following note on the sample: "The overall consumer sample for France and Germany contains additional participants from BNPL and Cross Border top-up studies, respectively.

This question was phrased by the source as follows: "Which of the following payment options would you use as your preferred payment method?"

The survey was conducted in the following time period during 2022: June 15 to July 22, 2022; August 26 to September 9, 2022; September 13 to 18, 2022.

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