This month's DeepDive is on payment and expense. Find more resources herePayment methods in Europe have been scrutinised in a report released just before Christmas, and the results show which nationalities are further accepting of new methods than others.
The report, devised by Worldpay Inc with support from McKinsey and GlobalData, is predominantly aimed at merchants such as TMCs or shops but provides some interesting country by country insights for travel buyers. The way that travellers pay in their personal lives is and will undoubtedly affect how they want to pay on business travel trips.
In the WorldPay report Denmark and the UK are some way ahead for eCommerce/online spend per capita with Russia and Poland among those spending the least online. Interestingly while the spend is lower in Italy its residents are using mobile wallets more than all the other nations.
Physical card payments are by far still more popular (in line with other research) even in the countries where eCommerce spend is high. Mobile wallets only account for a small percentage of transactions but are the largest in Germany and the UK, then Norway.
What of cash? Regionally cash is estimated to account for less than half of physical payments this year (see graph below) and will take up just a third in 2022, with cards still dominating in those scenarios.
But it appears card use may take a dip online as many more adopt eWallets and bank transfer options.
While our world, and many travel programmes, are becoming globalised these numbers are a reminder that there are always cultural nuances and local suppliers and to think about.