Maestro, giropay gain ground in European e-commerce - study

Maestro ranks third in European customer preferences in terms of online payment methods, while giropay commands a market share of over 3 percent in Europe as a whole, even though this payment method was introduced in 2006, the study indicates. These findings are an indication of the fact that modern payment methods are catching up, to the detriment of the traditional ones.

In UK, consumers use Maestro to pay for one out of ten transactions, while the Maestro or EC cards which are issued in Germany can not be used for payment online. German consumers prefer to use direct debits. The E-Commerce-Report 2009, which was published by Deutsche Card Services, also indicates that Visas market share in European e-commerce has climbed by 8 percentage points since 2004/05 and it is currently used for over 70 percent of all online transactions paid via a credit card. MasterCard has a share of 27.5 percent, dropping from more than 32 percent three years before.

E-commerce merchants, customers who use a modern online payment method to pay are more attractive than those who prefer offline methods, as customers who pay with MasterCard or other credit cards generate higher average transaction values than Visa users. giropay has the largest market share in transaction values above EUR 500.