How localised payment strategies are unlocking global growth for marketplaces

By Angela Hull is the Senior Vice President of Global Payment Partnerships at PPRO

Cross-border commerce has entered a new phase. Between European markets, it is a major driver of growth, with revenues increasing by 88% since 2019. This reflects rising consumer confidence in purchasing from merchants beyond their domestic market.

But while the infrastructure underpinning global commerce is becoming more connected, consumer behaviour remains deeply local. Take Europe, for example. Consumers in Europe may share a common economic region, but their preferred ways to pay often remain highly localised.

For marketplaces growing across Europe, this is a critical challenge. Consumers may have no hesitation in buying from an overseas merchant, but they still expect the payment experience to reflect the habits and preferences they know at home. For marketplaces, turning cross-border demand into sustainable growth means understanding the distinct payment behaviours within each country, rather than taking a one-size-fits-all approach.

Global commerce, local expectations

Europe is a clear example of how payment preferences remain local. Despite the rise of cross-border shopping, there is no single European payment preference.

PPRO’s latest Almanac highlights just how firmly embedded these preferences have become. In Poland, BLIK has become a familiar part of the digital payment experience, accounting for 63% of Polish e-commerce value. In the Netherlands, iDEAL is deeply established with a 70% market share of all online payments, while Sweden has Swish, which is used by 91% of Swedish consumers on a monthly basis.

Data shows that 82% of e-commerce payments globally are made using local payment methods. Research has also found that 99% of shoppers expect to pay using their preferred, customary payment methods, and 94% expect to pay in their local currency, highlighting the need for merchants to offer a local shopping experience that feels familiar.

How local payments drive global growth

Global players such as SHEIN, AliExpress and Temu have accelerated their international growth by embracing localised payment strategies. Their expansion into Europe and LATAM demonstrates a critical lesson for global commerce: there is no one-size-fits-all approach to entering new markets.

A marketplace like theirs can invest heavily in marketing, pricing, logistics and customer experience, but if the final payment step feels unfamiliar, that investment falls flat. Their success is rooted in a deep understanding of local market dynamics. 

Research shows the importance of an optimised payment experience: 72% of merchants report higher rates of failed payments for cross-border transactions compared to domestic ones, creating friction that drives customers away.

Offering payment methods consumers already know can help build trust and reduce friction at the point where conversion matters most. Merchants that fail to accommodate these differences risk increased checkout friction, reduced conversion rates and smaller addressable consumer bases.

Global scale requires local intelligence

While localisation is important, it is also imperative to understand each market and identify the methods that genuinely matter to local consumers.

This balance will become increasingly important as payment behaviour evolves. Cards remain central to e-commerce in many markets, but digital wallets, account-to-account payments and BNPL are reshaping expectations. By 2030, digital wallets could account for 46% of European e-commerce transactions, while account-to-account payments are projected to reach 21%. Meanwhile, BNPL is forecast to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15.4% between 2026 and 2031. With transactions growing 72% year-on-year from 2024–25, stablecoins are also becoming an inclusive alternative to traditional payment rails. 

For marketplaces, localisation cannot be a one-off market-entry exercise: there needs to be an ongoing effort to understand consumer behaviour, respond to emerging preferences and adapt the checkout experience without compromising global scale.

Globalisation is about scale. Localisation is about relevance.

The businesses that can combine global scale with local relevance will be best positioned to convert international demand into sustainable growth. Consumers do not expect global businesses to operate exactly like local ones. They simply expect the checkout experience to feel familiar enough to trust.

Ultimately, the future of cross-border commerce will not be about creating one universal way to pay. It will be about giving consumers the confidence to pay in the way they know and trust.

For marketplaces, local payments are no longer simply a checkout feature. They are becoming fundamental to how global growth is won. The businesses that succeed will be those that combine local relevance with operational efficiency. They will continue to offer the payment methods consumers recognise, while investing in connected and interoperable infrastructure that enables those methods to be activated, accepted and managed at scale.