Online payments in France - statistics & facts

Guaranteed security: success of mobile payment providers

With a 2021 forecast value of 72.15 billion U.S. dollars for digital payment transactions in France, the number of active online payment users is on the rise, and explains the increasing value of PayPal. The competition is intense with other big players such as Apple or Google Pay, while Fintechs like Paylib offer alternative solutions.
Having built a strong reputation and increased investments in secure authentication methods, mobile payment providers have mastered the art of sending out secret codes. However, online shoppers could see themselves paying by fingerprint in the future, which is more convenient than sending out a one-time passcode through SMS. Carrier billing is another popular method to pay for digital purchases via mobile, which often include mobile games and in-game content. In April 2020, the average revenue per paying user (ARPPU) with carrier billing in France amounted to nine U.S. dollars.

Payment innovations and multichannel usage

The constant state of innovation in daily e-commerce business can be seen in the French QR payment adoption. Facebook was one of the first online platforms to introduce shopping and payment options in France. A survey had asked the French population if they were considering payments through social media, for which 81 percent expressed their distrust, compared to less than 40 percent who considered QR codes to be something that they would probably use.
Mobile payments have also expanded in-store. And even though 40 percent of French mobile payment clients had used Apple Pay in physical shops during 2019, the majority of consumers still prefer to pay with cash in 2020. Combining the physical and the virtual shopping experience, Amazon Go, already implemented in the U.S., has pioneered a physical supermarket with a quick digital shopping and checkout route. France has expressed a positive interest towards the hybrid model, showing that the French have a pragmatic outlook on future technology. Cryptocurrencies are already known to 33 percent of the population and are considered innovative.

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