Payment methods in France
By 2022, French consumers made 16% of all purchases online - a 23% increase in the space of just the last three years.
Market takeaways
- By 2022, French consumers made 16% of all purchases online - a 23% increase in the space of just the last three years.
- French e-commerce is worth a massive US$173 billion. And by 2027, that figure will have grown to US$235 billion.
- French consumers use digital payment methods in almost half of all online purchases. Popular payment methods include PayPal, Sepa Direct Debit, and Cashway.
- The French buy 17% of all online purchases worth US$27 billion, from e-commerce sites based in other countries.
- The average French online shopper spends US$2,572 a year on e-commerce. By 2027, that figure will be as high as USD$3,441.
Population
68M
Online population
60.9M
B2C e-commerce
$80B
Banked population
99%
Credit card population
70%
E-commerce of total retail
12%
Payment method breakdown
- Card52%
- Cash2%
- Bank Transfer11%
- E-Wallet27%
- Other8%
Card scheme breakdown
- Visa3%
- Mastercard5%
- American Express3%
- Local schemes85%
- Other4%
Cross-border e-commerce
Cross-border shoppers
64%
Share of e-commerce
17%
Cross-border value (est.)
$27.2B
Featured payment methods in France
All payment methods available in this market, sorted by prominence.
Paysafecard
Paysafecard is a prepaid voucher payment method allowing consumers to pay online without a bank account or card. Vouchers are purchased at retail points of sale and redeemed with a 16-digit PIN at checkout. Switzerland is a supported Paysafecard consumer country and usage is concentrated in gaming, digital goods, and entertainment sectors.
Carte Bancaire (CB)
France's national interbank card network, present on virtually all French bank cards alongside Visa or Mastercard co-branding. Processes ~85% of French card transactions. The "carte bleue" — synonymous with bank cards in France — runs on the CB network.
Satispay
Italian smartphone payment network independent of cards, used for in-store, online and P2P payments. Operator: Satispay S.p.A.. Est. users: 5.5M users (2024).
Scalapay
Italian buy-now-pay-later provider offering interest-free instalments at online and in-store checkouts. Operator: Scalapay S.r.l. / Incremento SPV. Est. users: 4M active customers (2024).
Cofidis (3x/4x)
French consumer-credit provider offering 3x/4x card instalment payments at e-commerce and in-store checkouts. Operator: Cofidis S.A. (Crédit Mutuel). Est. users: Millions of users in France/Europe (est.).
Wero
Pan-European bank-backed digital wallet built on SEPA instant payments, replacing schemes like Paylib and iDEAL. Operator: European Payments Initiative (EPI Company). Est. users: 14M+ users (early 2025).
Alma
French buy-now-pay-later provider offering split and deferred payments at online and in-store checkouts. Operator: Alma SAS. Est. users: 4.8M users (2024).
Paylib
French bank-backed mobile payment wallet for P2P and online payments, being wound down in favour of Wero. Operator: Paylib Services (French banks). Est. users: ~10M users (peak, pre-2025).
Maestro
Maestro is Mastercard's international debit scheme; new issuance ended July 2023 and remaining cards are being replaced by Debit Mastercard, with only limited e-commerce support. Operator: Mastercard. Est. users: historically hundreds of millions (cards expire by 2027).
FLOA Pay
French BNP Paribas-owned buy-now-pay-later service offering instalment and deferred payments across Europe. Operator: FLOA SA (BNP Paribas). Est. users: 4M+ customers (2024).
Featured banks in France
All banks operating in this market, sorted by prominence.
Industrial and Commercial Bank of China (ICBC)
Beijing, China
ICBC is the world's largest bank by total assets and the largest of China's 'Big Four' state-owned banks. It offers retail, corporate, and investment banking globally.
HSBC Holdings
London, United Kingdom
HSBC is one of the world's largest banks by assets, headquartered in London with a dominant presence in Asia. It offers retail, commercial, and investment banking in over 60 countries.
JPMorgan Chase
New York, United States
JPMorgan Chase is the largest US bank and one of the world's largest financial institutions, offering consumer banking, investment banking, commercial banking, and asset management globally.
BNP Paribas
Paris, France
BNP Paribas is France's largest bank and a global top-10 financial institution, providing retail, corporate, and investment banking, insurance, and asset management across 65 countries.
Bank of America
Charlotte, United States
Bank of America is the second-largest US bank by assets, providing consumer banking, wealth management (Merrill Lynch), and global banking and markets services worldwide.
MUFG (Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group)
Tokyo, Japan
MUFG is Japan's largest bank and one of the world's largest financial groups, offering retail, corporate, investment, and trust banking globally.
Intesa Sanpaolo
Turin, Italy
Intesa Sanpaolo is Italy's largest bank and one of the Eurozone's leading financial institutions, providing retail, corporate, and investment banking in Italy and across Eastern Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
Crédit Agricole Group
Paris, France
Crédit Agricole is the world's largest cooperative bank and France's second-largest financial group. It provides retail, corporate, insurance, and asset management services in France and internationally.
Morgan Stanley
New York, United States
Morgan Stanley is a global investment bank and wealth management firm, providing institutional securities, investment management, and wealth management services worldwide.
Goldman Sachs
New York, United States
Goldman Sachs is a leading global investment bank, providing investment banking, securities, asset management, and consumer banking (Marcus). It is a premier advisory firm for corporations and governments.
Barclays
London, United Kingdom
Barclays is a British multinational investment bank and financial services company, operating retail banking in the UK and Ireland, and investment banking globally through Barclays Bank.
Qatar National Bank (QNB)
Doha, Qatar
QNB is Qatar's largest bank and the largest bank in the Middle East and Africa by total assets, operating across 31 countries.
Société Générale
Paris, France
Société Générale is a leading European bank offering retail banking in France and Eastern Europe, plus global markets and investment banking services.
ABN AMRO
Amsterdam, Netherlands
ABN AMRO is the Netherlands' third-largest bank, focusing on retail, private, and corporate banking primarily in the Netherlands and Northwest Europe.
Groupe BPCE
Paris, France
Groupe BPCE is France's second-largest banking group by customers, encompassing Banque Populaire, Caisse d'Épargne, Natixis, and other entities. It is the nation's cooperative retail banking pillar.
National Bank of Canada
Montreal, Canada
National Bank of Canada is Canada's sixth-largest bank with a strong presence in Quebec.
Crédit Mutuel
Strasbourg, France
Crédit Mutuel is one of France's largest cooperative banking groups, offering retail, business, and insurance products. It is the second-largest French cooperative bank with 36 million clients.
Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD)
Lisbon, Portugal
Caixa Geral de Depósitos (CGD) is Portugal's largest bank and a state-owned institution, offering retail, commercial, and investment banking across Portugal and internationally.
Natixis
Paris, France
Natixis is the corporate, investment, insurance, and financial services arm of Groupe BPCE. It provides capital markets, investment banking, and asset management globally.
Bunq
Amsterdam, Netherlands
Bunq is a Dutch neobank founded in 2012, operating across Europe as one of the continent's fastest-growing challenger banks, known for its eco-friendly and multi-currency features.
Mediobanca
Milan, Italy
Mediobanca is Italy's leading investment bank and a significant financial services group, providing corporate finance, private banking, and consumer credit.
Banque Misr Egypt
Cairo, Egypt
Banque Misr is Egypt's second-largest state-owned bank, offering retail, SME, corporate, and Sharia-compliant banking.
Pictet Group
Geneva, Switzerland
Pictet is a Swiss independent private bank founded in Geneva, operating as a partnership. It specialises in wealth and asset management with a global presence.
La Banque Postale
Paris, France
La Banque Postale is the banking arm of La Poste (French post office), providing retail banking, insurance, and asset management with a strong focus on financial inclusion.
CIC (Crédit Industriel et Commercial)
Paris, France
CIC is a major French retail and business bank, operating under the Crédit Mutuel Alliance Fédérale umbrella. It serves 5 million customers through a large branch network.
HSBC France
Paris, France
HSBC France (now rebranded as CCF following its acquisition by Cerberus) offers private, corporate, and investment banking services in France, part of the global HSBC network.
Triodos Bank
Zeist, Netherlands
Triodos Bank is a Dutch ethical bank that exclusively finances sustainable and social enterprises. It operates in the Netherlands, Belgium, UK, Germany, Spain, and France.
Lombard Odier
Geneva, Switzerland
Lombard Odier is a Swiss private bank and asset manager founded in Geneva in 1796, one of the oldest private banking partnerships in the world.
Banque de France (Central Bank)
Paris, France
Banque de France is France's central bank and a member of the Eurosystem, responsible for monetary policy implementation, financial stability oversight, and currency issuance.
Bank Audi Lebanon
Beirut, Lebanon
Bank Audi was Lebanon's largest bank before the 2019 financial crisis. It continues to operate under severe restrictions alongside the deeply distressed banking system.
Other Banks — France
Paris, France
Aggregate of all remaining banks in France not individually listed, collectively representing ~12.3% of domestic banking assets.