Digital payment types in the United Kingdom (UK)

Statistics report on which cashless payment methods and brands are used the most in the United Kingdom (UK)

Digital payment types in the United Kingdom (UK)

A country known for its high use of cards and contactless payments, how does the UK deal with other cashless payment methods like digital wallets or buy now, pay later?

This report aims to provide a comparative overview of how different cashless, or digital, payment methods within the United Kingdom (UK) compare against each other. Which payment method do consumers in the country prefer to use either in POS or online shopping? Which brands do they prefer? And how does the UK deal with potential payment disruptors, such as buy now, pay later, cryptocurrency or real-time payments?

After an introduction that lays out the market share of cash as well the most used payment methods in both an offline and online environment, the main structure of this report focuses around industry-important metrices for each individual payment method. The metrices are as follows:

       
  • Adoption and/or penetration;
  •    
  • The biggest brands within certain payment methods;
  •    
  • User count and/or user demographics;
  •    
  • Value of transactions, in domestic currency and/or U.S. dollar;
  •    
  • Number of transactions per user.

Within those metrices the following payment methods are discussed:

       
  1. Credit cards;
  2.     
  3. Debit cards;
  4.     
  5. Contactless (tap to pay, proximity) payments with a smartphone at POS;
  6.     
  7. QR code payments, at POS (if applicable);
  8.     
  9. Wearable payments, such as smartwatches, at POS (if applicable);
  10.     
  11. Online payments performed with a mobile device;
  12.     
  13. Buy now, pay later (BNPL);
  14.     
  15. Cryptocurrencies;
  16.     
  17. Real-time (instant) payments.

The report, finally, closes off with a chapter on figures that help contextualize digital payments in the country - such as the market size of e-commerce, how many people do not have access to financial services or the size of cross-border remittances from and towards the country.

The report is designed to be comparable with other "Digital payment trend" reports that cover different countries across the world.

Table of contents

Market share

7
  • Premium Statistic Annual level of cash payments in the UK 2000-2021
  • Premium Statistic Annual currency in circulation (CIC) to GDP ratio of the UK 2012-2022
  • Premium Statistic Most popular in-store, or POS, payment methods in the UK 2017-2022
  • Premium Forecast Payments at points of sale by type in the UK 2023
  • Premium Statistic Most popular e-commerce payment methods in the UK 2016-2022
  • Premium Forecast Most common online payments by type in the UK 2023
  • Premium Statistic Penetration of crypto as a means of payment in selected countries worldwide in 2023

Penetration

8
  • Premium Forecast Penetration rate of credit cards in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Forecast Penetration rate of debit cards in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly adoption of mobile payments at POS in the UK 2018-2023
  • Premium Forecast Mobile payments by situation in the UK 2022
  • Premium Statistic Payment types accepted by all e-commerce vendors in the UK in 2022 and 2024
  • Premium Statistic Annual crypto adoption development in the UK 2020-2023, by metric
  • Premium Forecast Domestic and cross-border e-commerce revenue share 2023, by country
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly market share of outgoing digital remittances in the UK 2016-2023

Biggest brands

7
  • Premium Statistic Biggest international and domestic payment card schemes in the UK 2016-2022
  • Premium Forecast Most used mobile payments by brand in the UK 2023
  • Premium Forecast Most used online payments by brand in the UK 2023
  • Premium Statistic Biggest buy now, pay later (BNPL) apps in the UK 2015-2023, based on downloads
  • Premium Statistic Biggest cryptocurrency wallets in the UK 2015-2023, based on downloads
  • Premium Statistic Biggest real-time payments brands worldwide in 2022, based on number of transactions
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly market share of outgoing remittance brands in the UK 2011-2023

Number of users

4
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card and debit cards issued in the UK 2000-2022
  • Premium Statistic Preference for payment by smartwatch in the UK in 2023, by age and gender
  • Premium Statistic Top 10 countries worldwide based on number of buy now, pay later (BNPL) users 2022
  • Premium Statistic Quarterly number of crypto users in the UK 2021-2022

User demographics

3
  • Premium Statistic Triennial credit card penetration in the UK 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Statistic Triennial debit card penetration in the UK 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Statistic Crypto adoption in the UK as of November 2022, by age and gender

Transaction value

7
  • Premium Statistic Annual credit card spending in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Annual debit card spending in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Annual contactless spending in the UK 2014-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Global QR payment market size in 2020 with forecasts to 2025, by region
  • Premium Statistic Annual buy now, pay later (BNPL) spending in the UK in 2023, with a 2029 forecast
  • Premium Statistic Annual instant payment spending in the UK 2008-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Buy now, pay later (BNPL) statistics in the UK as of 2020

Number of transactions (per user)

5
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of credit card transactions in the UK 2012-2022, per capita
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of debit card transactions in the UK 2012-2022, per capita
  • Premium Statistic Top 10 countries worldwide with highest number of contactless card transactions 2022
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of real-time payments in the UK in 2022, with a 2027 forecast
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of instant payment transactions in the UK 2008-2022

Value per transaction

2
  • Premium Statistic Size of a credit card transaction in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD
  • Premium Statistic Size of a debit card transaction in the UK 2012-2022, in local currency and USD

Miscellaneous

7
  • Premium Statistic Annual number of POS terminals in the UK 2012-2022
  • Premium Statistic Triennial unbanked population share in the UK 2011-2024, by demographic
  • Premium Forecast Internet users in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Forecast Mobile internet usage reach in the United Kingdom 2014-2029
  • Premium Statistic Online retail sales in the United Kingdom (UK) 2012-2022
  • Premium Statistic Main cross-border online shopping markets in the UK 2022, by market share
  • Premium Statistic Annual value of outgoing and incoming remittance flow in the UK 2021, by country

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