North America Online Payment Methods 2023

Amidst the dominance of card-based payment methods, digital wallets gain momentum as the most used online payment method across North America

Digital wallets, including PayPal, Apple Pay, and Google Pay, are steadily gaining acceptance among both buyers and sellers across North America. This report reveals that digital wallets secured the fourth position in terms of frequently used online payment methods, with usage at least five times per month. This ranking places them just behind debit cards, cash, and credit cards, as of September 2022. Notably, nearly half of the surveyed respondents in the U.S. reported using at least one e-wallet or mobile payment app for online purchases as of July 2023. Furthermore, more than 25% of the surveyed respondents expressed that the convenience of digital wallets encouraged them to lean towards online purchases, based on data as of April 2023. In terms of the most commonly used digital wallets, PayPal maintained its dominant position across the region, followed by Apple Pay, Venmo, among others.

The U.S. economy displays heavy dependence on credit and debit cards as the most commonly used online payment methods

The well-established network of card providers within the U.S. has led to the continued growth in the adoption of credit and debit cards as the preferred online payment methods. As consumer expectations evolve towards more seamless payment options at checkout, card providers now offer contactless payment alternatives such as Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) and one-tap payments, ushering in a new era of innovation within the North American online payment landscape. Additionally, buyers are actively experimenting with new forms of payment methods such as account-to-account app payments or machine-to-machine payments due to their speed, convenience, and control. However, credit and debit cards remained among the most commonly used payment methods for consumers in their most recent online purchases, based on data as of December 2022. These two payment methods are also anticipated to experience the highest increase in usage as of April 2023.

Questions Covered

1. What is the forecasted value of digital wallet transactions globally as of 2028?
2. What is the forecasted value of proximity mobile payment transactions in the U.S. by 2027?
3. Which were the most used BNPL services for online purchases in the U.S. as of March 2023?
4. What is the forecasted share of credit cards in the food and retail transaction volume in Canada by 2024?

Please note: For this report, the purchase of an Enterprise license allows up to ten worldwide users of an organization access to the report