34% of global online payments now made on mobile devices

By

Cajsa Lykke Carlson

Published
Feb 11, 2016

The fourth quarter of 2015 saw 34% of online payments being made on mobile devices, up from just over 30% in Q3, according to payments processing company Adyen.

The company tracked mobile web payment transaction data around the world across select payment methods to get the result. The increase in mobile payments is driven mainly by major Asian-based payment methods including JCB, UnionPay, and Alipay. For JCB, more than half, 54%, of payments on the Adyen platform were made on a mobile device, up from 47% last quarter. Alipay increased to 44% and UnionPay to 31%. 

Netherland payment method iDEAL (Netherlands) remained steady at 49%, Open Invoice (Scandinavia) reached 47%, in Bancontact/Mr Cash (Belgium) was at 39%, and SEPA Direct Debit (Europe-wide) at 22%, Adyen said.

Smartphones are now more popular than tablets for retail purchases, it also found, at 17.5% versus 16% on tablet. It's the first time mobile phones have overtaken tablets - in Q3 the figures were 14% and 17% respectively. Smartphones also continue to increase its share of mobile payment volume, increasing 2% from last quarter to 68% on smartphone versus 32% on tablet.

However, when it comes to average transaction value (ATV) for device types, for the first time, the iPad led the way, at $107. This means it beat not just smartphones at $86 (Android) and $83 (iPhone), but also traditional leader the desktop/laptop at $106.

The UK still leads the way in mobile payment, with 49% of online transactions made on a mobile device. In the Netherlands, the number was 35%, and in Sweden 32%.