Payment methods in Portugal

Europe

4methods

11banks

In 2022, the Portuguese e-commerce market was worth US$5 billion, rising to US$8 billion by 2027.

Market takeaways

In 2022, the Portuguese e-commerce market was worth US$5 billion, rising to US$8 billion by 2027.
The Portuguese make over 40% of online purchases using a mobile device, up from just 35% in 2020.
The average Portuguese online shopper spends US$602 with e-commerce merchants, rising to US$854 by 2027.
Fourteen percent of all the things Portuguese buy online, they purchase from stores based outside the country.
The Portuguese use cards to pay for just 26% of online purchases. The rest are bought using a range of digital payment methods.

Population

10.3M

Online population

8.8M

B2C e-commerce

$5.6B

Banked population

93%

Credit card population

54%

E-commerce of total retail

Payment method breakdown

Card26%
Cash7%
Bank Transfer25%
E-Wallet34%
Other9%

Card scheme breakdown

Visa60%
Mastercard40%
American Express0%
Local schemes0%
Other0%

Cross-border e-commerce

Cross-border shoppers

69%

Share of e-commerce

14%

Cross-border value (est.)

$0.6B

Featured payment methods in Portugal

All payment methods available in this market, sorted by prominence.

Multibanco

Portugal's national interbank payment network. Generates payment reference numbers for online and offline transactions paid via ATM, home banking, or MB WAY. Has underpinned Portuguese commerce for decades and remains a primary e-commerce payment method.

MB WAY

Portugal's dominant mobile payment solution operated by SIBS. Enables instant peer-to-peer transfers by mobile number, QR/NFC in-store payments, and online checkout. Used by over 7 million Portuguese. The definitive local payment method in Portugal.

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).

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 Portugal

All banks operating in this market, sorted by prominence.

Itaú Unibanco

São Paulo, Brazil

Itaú Unibanco is Latin America's largest bank by assets, formed from the 2008 merger of Itaú and Unibanco. It offers retail, SME, corporate, and investment banking.

CaixaBank

Valencia, Spain

CaixaBank is Spain's third-largest bank and a leader in digital banking, formed by the merger with Bankia in 2021.

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.

Bankinter

Madrid, Spain

Bankinter is a Spanish bank known for its innovative approach, focusing on private banking, SMEs, and mortgages.

Millennium BCP

Lisbon, Portugal

Millennium BCP (Banco Comercial Português) is Portugal's largest privately held bank, with operations in Poland, Mozambique, and Angola.

Santander Portugal

Lisbon, Portugal

Santander Portugal is Banco Santander's Portuguese subsidiary, offering retail and commercial banking in Portugal.

BPI (Banco BPI)

Porto, Portugal

Banco BPI is a major Portuguese bank, a subsidiary of Spain's CaixaBank. It offers retail, corporate, and investment banking with strong presence in Angola and Mozambique.

Novo Banco

Lisbon, Portugal

Novo Banco is a Portuguese bank created in 2014 from the resolution of Banco Espírito Santo (BES). It offers retail, corporate, and private banking in Portugal and Spain.

Abanca

A Coruña, Spain

Abanca is the leading bank in Galicia offering retail and business banking.

Montepio Geral

Lisbon, Portugal

Montepio Geral is Portugal's oldest mutual bank, serving civil servants, pensioners, and the general public with savings, insurance, and banking products.