2.1.19 In most developing economies, a majority of online shoppers have paid online

FIGURE 2.1.19 In most developing economies, a majority of online shoppers have paid online

Adults using a mobile phone or the internet to buy something online in the past year (%), 2021

Source: Global Findex Database 2021.

Despite the general trend toward online payments, cash on delivery remains a common way to pay for online purchases in some economies. In the Philippines, 36 percent of adults bought something online, and three in four online shoppers paid only in cash for their purchase. The share of online shoppers that paid both online and in cash was low across nearly all of the surveyed economies, but in a handful of economies in the East Asia and Pacific region, including Malaysia, and in Europe and Central Asia, the proportion was greater than 10 percent.

Modes of making digital payments

Using a debit or credit card or a mobile phone or the internet to make digital payments

A digital payment can be made directly from an account without withdrawing cash in primarily two ways: using credit or debit cards or using a mobile phone or the internet.22 In high-income economies, 90 percent of adults (93 percent of account owners) used one of these modes to make a payment, while in developing economies 45 percent of adults (64 percent of account owners) did so (figure 2.1.20). In both high-income and developing economies, adults who made digital payments were most likely to have used both methods—

22. Making a digital payment using a mobile phone or the internet can take different forms. Some make a payment directly from their mobile money account, while others use a smartphone app from their financial institution or one from a third-party payment provider linked to their account. Some also make digital payments directly on the website of their financial institution or a third-party payment service provider.