An Overview of France’s Payment Landscape
Three infrastructure elements differentiate France from other major European markets and impact your payment strategy:
- Carte Bancaire domestic scheme: Is a dominant domestic scheme with 15 billion transactions annually
- Exceptionally high card payment preference: 72% of consumers prefer cards over other methods
- Higher online payment activity: 25% versus 21% eurozone average
French consumers show stronger card payment preference than most European markets. Recent research across multiple European countries, including France, found that 58% of French consumers prefer paying by card in shops.
Digital adoption outpaces the broader euro area. French consumers make 25% of payments online compared to 21% euro area average. The gap indicates mature digital commerce expectations rather than emerging market dynamics.
How French Customers Pay Online
Understanding payment method hierarchy helps you prioritise integration investments based on French market realities:
- Cards: Account for approximately 85% of online transactions and are critical
- Digital wallets: Represent the fastest-growing method with 6 percentage point growth over 2022-2024
- BNPL services: Have achieved mainstream status with €1+ billion in annual volume
Cards account for about 85% of online payment transactions in France. International card schemes represented 69% of all card payments in the second half of 2024.
Entering the French market without excellent card payment processing is equivalent to launching without product inventory: technically possible but commercially unviable.
Digital wallets have transitioned from optional addition to core infrastructure. According to Banque de France, online payment solutions recorded a 6 percentage point increase over 2022-2024.
This represents the strongest growth of any payment method. Mobile payments specifically show 100% growth in two years, rising from 2% to 4% of point-of-sale transactions.
Buy-now-pay-later services have achieved mainstream status with €1+ billion in annual transaction volume through leading French provider Alma alone. This positions BNPL as increasingly expected rather than differentiating, particularly for higher-value transactions.
Bank transfers maintain substantial presence through SEPA infrastructure. Credit transfers represented 22% of total non-cash payments, supported by exceptionally high digital banking adoption.
High levels of internet penetration and digital adoption in France create a robust infrastructure for account-to-account payments, with a significant majority of customers using their bank’s website or app.
In-Store Payment Preferences
Cards account for a significant share of online and in-store payments in France—the majority of French consumers prefer to pay by card in shops even when other methods are available.
This consistency between physical and digital card preference indicates that in-store payment experiences directly shape online expectations around payment security, simplicity and available options.
Cash now accounts for only 43% of point-of-sale transactions, representing a 25-percentage-point decline since 2016. This marks the first time cards have become the dominant payment method at French physical retail locations.
The sustained trajectory of approximately 3.1 percentage points decline per year suggests retailers should anticipate cash representing less than 40% of transactions within 2-3 years.
Yet, French consumers “still value cash” as a concept despite dramatically reduced usage. This paradox means that payment optionality remains important to consumer trust, even as behaviour shifts.
According to comparative reports, France is above the eurozone average in digital payment adoption, but not Europe’s leader. Countries like the Netherlands, Nordics, and Germany have higher shares of digital payments, while French consumers maintain notable attachment to traditional payment forms.
Your e-commerce checkout needs to provide perceived flexibility and control options, even if most customers ultimately select cards or wallets.
Contactless payments experience substantial acceleration. Contactless card payments reached 29.5 billion transactions in the second half of 2024. This represents 15.5% year-over-year growth.
Transaction value totalled €0.8 trillion with value growing 15.1% year-over-year. This dual growth in both volume and value indicates contactless is being adopted across transaction sizes, not merely for small purchases.
The average card transaction value was €39 in the second half of 2024. This relatively modest average, combined with high transaction volumes, indicates cards are used for routine, everyday purchases rather than exclusively for large transactions.
French consumers expect the same frictionless card experience online that they receive at physical points of sale.
Payment Considerations for Businesses Operating in France
Successful French market entry requires prioritising the following points, based on the data we’ve covered so far.
Offer Multiple Digital Payment Options
French consumers place cards at the center of their payment expectations. This means supporting Carte Bancaire alongside Visa and Mastercard.
The digital wallet landscape has shifted from addition to necessity. PayPal, Apple Pay and Google Pay are increasingly expected by digitally-engaged consumers.
BNPL services have earned consideration for their higher-value transactions. Alma’s position as leading French provider makes it worth evaluating for local market credibility.
SEPA credit transfers matter for specific transaction types. Your priority depends on average transaction value: bank transfers become more important as purchase prices rise, particularly for B2B transactions where they represent established infrastructure despite ongoing digitisation efforts.
Prioritise Localisation
French language implementation is legally mandatory. French Consumer Code Article L.221-5 requires professionals proposing online sale contracts to provide mandatory information in French.
Return policies must comply with French law mandating consumers have the right to return products within 14 days for online purchases. You must reimburse consumers within specified timeframes from notification of withdrawal, including delivery costs.
Currency display follows euro (€) standards for all French transactions. This is a straightforward technical implementation but requires attention to pricing presentation conventions.
Advertise Checkout Security and Transparency to Build Trust
Research shows 80% of French consumers fear e-commerce payment fraud, with the majority believing new digital payment methods pose the highest fraud risks.
Your checkout needs visible security indicators, fraud protection measures and trust signals addressing these concerns.