Cryptocurrency remains a marginal payment method in the euro area, with merchants accepting it for just 0.2% of online transactions and under 1% at physical point-of-sale terminals, according to new data. The figures stand in sharp contrast to mobile payments, which have steadily gained ground across the region.
A tiny slice of payments
The numbers are stark. For every 1,000 online purchases made in the euro area, only two are settled in crypto. At brick-and-mortar stores, the rate is even lower, with less than one in a hundred transactions using digital assets. That puts crypto far behind not just cards and bank transfers, but also the mobile wallets that have become a common sight at checkout counters.
Mobile payments keep climbing
Mobile payments have carved out a growing share of the region's payment mix, a trend that shows no sign of slowing. Consumers are increasingly tapping their phones to pay for everything from groceries to transit fares. The contrast with crypto is hard to miss: while mobile payments have become a standard option, crypto remains a niche experiment.
Why the gap persists
The data doesn't explain why merchants are so reluctant to accept crypto, but the reasons aren't hard to guess. Price volatility, unclear regulation, and a lack of consumer demand all likely play a role. For most retailers, the effort of integrating crypto payments simply isn't worth the payoff when mobile payments already work well.
The low acceptance rate also suggests that the much-hyped promise of crypto as a daily payment method has yet to materialize in the euro area. Even as digital assets gain traction as investments, their use as a medium of exchange remains negligible.
A long way from everyday use
The numbers are a reminder that the infrastructure for crypto payments, while improving, still has a long way to go. Even in a region with a relatively high level of digital adoption, merchants see little reason to add another payment option that few customers use. The data also highlights a divergence between the investment market and the payments market. Crypto may be a hot asset class, but as a way to buy a coffee, it's barely on the radar.
For now, crypto is a rounding error in the region's payment landscape. Whether that changes will depend on factors well beyond merchant adoption, from regulatory clarity to the behavior of consumers who have shown little interest in paying with crypto. The next data point will show whether the trend holds, but the current numbers leave little room for optimism.
