{"id":322383,"date":"2025-12-03T09:14:07","date_gmt":"2025-12-03T09:14:07","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/322383\/"},"modified":"2025-12-03T09:14:07","modified_gmt":"2025-12-03T09:14:07","slug":"which-countries-use-phones-and-smartwatches-most-for-shopping","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/322383\/","title":{"rendered":"Which countries use phones and smartwatches most for shopping?"},"content":{"rendered":"

Technological developments are transforming daily life in many ways, including how people shop. Mobile payments are growing across Europe as more people use smartphones and smartwatches to make purchases.<\/p>\n

In 2024, 6% of all point-of-sale (POS) payments in the euro area were made through mobile apps, accounting for 7% of the total value. In 2019, both figures were just 1%, according to the European Central Bank (ECB).<\/p>\n

Mobile payments include the use of a mobile phone, smartwatch, fitness band, or another smart device. These payments are made through digital wallets or other mobile apps.<\/p>\n

While the payment landscape is shifting, the pace of transformation still differs across countries.<\/p>\n

In the euro area in 2024, 75% of day-to-day payments were made at the POS, referring to any in-person payment terminal. Around 21% were made online, while 4% were person-to-person (P2P) payments \u2014 such as sending money to a friend.<\/p>\n

In terms of payment value, 58% of day-to-day payments were made at the POS and 36% were online. 6% were P2P payments, according to the ECB’s SPACE survey.<\/p>\n

In terms of payment instruments, cash is still used most<\/a> often, making up 52% of transactions, although it accounts for only 39% of the total value. Cards are used for 39% of transactions but represent a higher share of value at 45%. This means that cards tend to be used for higher-value purchases.<\/p>\n

Mobile payments, meanwhile, make up 6% of transactions and 7% of the total value. <\/p>\n

The Netherlands leads in mobile payments<\/p>\n

Among 20 countries in the euro area, the Netherlands is an outlier when it comes to digital payment transformation.<\/p>\n

\u201cIn the Netherlands there are very high adoption rates of digital payment methods such as contactless payments with a debit card or smartphone,\u201d a spokesperson for the Dutch Central Bank (DNB) told Euronews Business.<\/p>\n

\u201cDutch consumers perceive contactless payments as faster and more convenient than for example cash or traditional debit card payments.\u201d<\/p>\n

At the POS, mobile payments are used in almost one in five (19%) of transactions in the Netherlands, while Ireland and Finland also see a high uptake, with 10% shares. <\/p>\n

Slovenia, Croatia, and Belgium have the lowest shares of mobile payments, where only 3% of transactions use smart devices.<\/p>\n

Among the EU\u2019s \u2018Big Four\u2019 economies, Spain (7%) is the only country where the share of mobile payments is above the euro area average. While Germany matches the average at 6%, France and Italy fall below this total.<\/p>\n

In terms of the value of payments, the Netherlands stands out with a 17% share, followed by Spain at 12%. <\/p>\n

Croatia, Belgium, Portugal, and Austria record the lowest mobile payment value shares.<\/p>\n

A practical way to pay?<\/p>\n

Digital literacy, along with perceptions of speed and ease, play an important role in the uptake of mobile payments.<\/p>\n

For consumers who prefer to pay with smart devices, carrying around cash or a card may now feel redundant.<\/p>\n

Even so, the report reveals that for non-users, security concerns and fears of hacking (28%) or fraud (27%) are significant barriers to adoption.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Technological developments are transforming daily life in many ways, including how people shop. Mobile payments are growing across…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":322384,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[17],"tags":[49,48,21267,195,18045,404,61],"class_list":{"0":"post-322383","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-gadgets","8":"tag-ca","9":"tag-canada","10":"tag-cash-money","11":"tag-gadgets","12":"tag-online-shopping","13":"tag-shopping","14":"tag-technology"},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322383","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=322383"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/322383\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/322384"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=322383"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=322383"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/ca\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=322383"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}