UK generates 25% of $708.3bn Europe’s digital payments in 2020

THE UNITED KING DOM, EUROPE’S largest digital payment market has been earmarked to deliver 25 per cent or a quarter of the total value of digital payments in Europe this year.

The European digital payment industry in recent years has witnessed an impressive growth with transaction value climbing by more than $200 billion since 2017 and hitting $708.3 billion in 2020, official data revealed.

A 2020 FinTech Report by Statista revealed that with 81.8 per cent of the UK citizens using online payments in 2019, the kingdom ranks as the country with the largest share of the online payment users globally. In the same vein, the United Kingdom’s digital payments industry hit $120.4 billion transaction value in 2017 and, however, rose to $154.8 billion by 30 per cent by the end of 2019; although, the ecommerce space generated 90 per cent of that value.

Against the backdrop of the COVID-19 lockdown, online payments in the UK has continued to be on the increase as millions of shoppers took preference in online shops to the brick and mortar stores. As such, official has revealed that the UK digital payment market is set to reach $164.4billion value in 2020 which signifies almost 410 billion increase on an annual basis.

On the other hand, the mobile segment of the British digital payments industry canvassed $30.9 billion in revenue in 2019. Although, mobile PoS payments played a colossal role in that rise, digital commerce got the most relevant revenue stream in the period as it hit $123.9 billion value in 2019.

The mobile PoS payments, however, rose to $14.8 billion to reach $45.7 billion in 2020 within the last twelve months as the digital commerce payments dipped $5.3 billion and falling to $118.6 billion transaction value in 2020.

The mobile PoS payments in the United Kingdom are projected to surge by 360 per cent, reaching $210.8 billion value by 2024, with the digital commerce transactions set to jump over $155 billion value, to reach a $37 billion increase in four years. The entire digital payments industry in the United Kingdom is forecast to double and hit a $366 billion transaction value by 2024, the 2020 FinTech survey by Statista revealed.

Further look into statistics revealed that the United Kingdom is set to remain Europe’s largest digital payments industry, with the transaction value almost twice the other two leading markets.

Meanwhile, as the secondlargest digital payments industry in Europe, Germany is predicted to hit $104.3 billion transaction value this year, 38 per cent less than the industry in United Kingdom. France, Spain, and Italy follow with $75.2bn, $41.2bn, and $41bn, respectively.

However, data show these four European digital markets are set to witness impressive growth in the next four years, with their combined value growing by 116 per cent and reaching $565.1 billion by 2024.