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Within Europe, smartphone use for contactless payments was highest in Denmark and Sweden, with four out of ten smartphone owners having performed one such payment in the past six months. This phenomenon is referred to as “proximity mobile payments”, with Apple Pay being the most well-known example of this type of payment. Norway and Switzerland were two other countries within Europe with a relative high adoption for apps that allowed payments via QR codes or contactless transactions. In general, however, European consumers preferred to use of debit cards instead of mobile wallets in brick-and-mortar stores in 2019. Cash was also used more often than either Apple Pay and Google Pay.

Contactless payments in Europe: closing in...

Contactless payments increased in Europe in 2020. As the coronavirus pandemic spread across Europe, limits on contactless card payments were relaxed in various countries across the continent. When looking at Europe’s contactless card limits during 2019, for example, most countries had a limit of ** euros/the average limit for contactless payments was 20–25 euros. When looking at the European contactless card limits in 2020, the average limit was ** euros. This, combined with domestic governments urging to use less cash to prevent the spread of COVID-19, led to a surge in the market share of contactless payments in a country like Belgium.

…but still behind China.

When compared to other countries overseas, however, Europe seems to be lacking in using services like Apple Pay or Google Pay for contactless payments. Proximity mobile payments in China comfortably outperformed Europe’s figures, reaching a penetration rate of ** percent in 2019. The country stands out even within Asia, however, as mobile payments were not the most popular payment method found in Japan, for example.