Most Popular Online Payment Methods

Last updated: May 7, 2025

Highlights. Digital wallets pay for 53% of global online purchases; projections indicate that will increase to 65% by 2030.

  • U.S. consumers use digital wallets for 39% of online transactions; projections indicate that by 2030, that share will increase to 52%. 
  • PayPal is the most popular digital wallet among U.S. adults with a 71% penetration rate. 
  • Global consumers pay for 20% of online purchases with credit cards; projections indicate that value will decline to 13% by 2030.
  • Americans use credit cards for 31% of online purchases; projections indicate a decline to 22% by 2030.
  • Global consumers use debit cards for 12% of online sales and direct transfer for 7% of sales.

Grouped Bar Graph: Most Popular Online Payment Methods as a share of global transaction value from 2023 to 2024 with projections to 2030 according to FIS Global

Digital wallet is currently the most popular online payment method in the U.S. and worldwide.

  • Globally, consumers are 165% more likely to use a digital wallet than any other form of online payment.
  • According to projections, digital wallet use will increase 22.6% from 2024 to 2030.
  • Digital wallet use increased 26.8% from 2019 to 2024.
  • Credit card payments for worldwide online sales declined 9.09% from 2023 to 2024.
  • North American consumers used credit cards for 32% of 2024 online purchases, down 3.03% year-over-year (YoY). 
  • Global consumers used debit and prepaid cards for 12% of online purchases in 2024.
  • North American consumers used debit for 17% of 2024 online purchases down 8.33% YoY.

Bar Graph: U.S. Adults Using Digital Wallets according to Morning Consult

Digital wallets first overtook credit cards as the most popular online payment method in 2022.

  • 186 million American adults use PayPal; among them, 22% use the app daily.
  • 115 million or 44% of American adults use Cash App.
  • 65% of American adults use digital wallets on a monthly basis at least (or more often).
  • At least 33% of digital wallet users make daily use of their digital wallet.
  • Global online consumers spent an estimated $3.60 trillion using digital wallets in 2024.
  • In the U.S., digital wallet payments for online purchases totaled an estimated $819 billion. 
  • U.S. PayPal users are the most likely to use other digital payment methods, such as Venmo (89% of PayPal users) or Apple Pay (88% of PayPal users).
  • Apple Pay users are the least likely to use more than one digital payment app, such as PayPal (34% of Apple Pay users) or Venmo (49% of Apple Pay users).
  • U.S. consumers are 25.8% more likely to use digital wallets than any other method of online payment.
  • Online digital wallet use in North America increased 160% from 2014 to 2024.
  • According to projections, digital wallet use in North America will increase 33.3% from 2024 to 2030.
  • 23% of digital wallet users usually fund their digital wallet purchases with a credit card.
  • In the U.S. 40% of users fund their digital wallets using a credit card while 25% use a debit card.

Doughnut Graph: Global Online Payment Methods totaling $6.8 trillion in total payments according to FIS Global

Credit cards were the most popular online payment method in the U.S. until 2022; other popular methods include debit, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL), Cash on Delivery (CoD), cryptocurrency, etc.

  • From 2023 to 2024, global use of BNPL remained the same YoY while North American use increased 20%.
  • 94.3% of online merchants accept Visa and Mastercard.
  • 73.9% of online merchants accept PayPal.
  • 67% of online merchants worldwide cite debit cards as the most-used payment method for fraudulent orders.
  • 22% of purchases and person-to-person (P2P) payments in 2023 were online, up 15.8% YoY.
  • 50% of P2P payments in 2023 were via digital wallet or mobile app, down 9.1% from 2022.

Doughnut Chart: U.S. Online Payment Methods totaling $2.1 trillion in total payments according to FIS Global

Global Online Payment Methods

Digital wallet payments are most popular in the Asia-Pacific region with 74% of online transactions using this payment method; a 39.6% higher rate than the global average.

  • 84% of online payments in China are made using digital wallets, the highest rate of any country. 
  • With only 8% of online payments completed via digital wallet, consumers in Peru are the least likely to use this payment method globally.
  • Credit card payments are most popular in North America with 32% of online transactions completed using this method. 
  • In Japan, 55% of online payments use credit cards, the highest rate of any country. 
  • Only 3% of online payments in Nigeria are completed via credit card, the lowest rate globally. 
  • Consumers in Saudi Arabia are the most likely to use debit and prepaid cards at 33% of online transactions completed using this payment method. 
  • Direct transfer is the most popular in Poland and the Netherlands, accounting for 70% and 67% of online payments respectively. 
  • Buy Now, Pay Later is most popular in Sweden with 23% of online transactions completed using this payment method.
  • Cash (including cash on delivery, pre-pay, and post-pay) for online purchases is most prevalent in the Philippines with 19% of transactions using this method.

100% Stacked Column Cahrt: Online Payment Volume by Region according to FIS Global

These data and insights were compiled by the Capital One Shopping team based on publicly available data.

Sources

  1. FIS Global, Global Payments Report
  2. Statista, Credit Cards Worldwide – Statistics and Facts
  3. Morning Consult, The State of Consumer Banking & Payments
  4. United States Census Bureau
  5. Federal Reserve Bank of San Francisco, Publications