Worldpay’s Joint Report: A Look into Local Payment Behaviors

Global payment processor Worldpay recently shared the first research of its kind in the industry.

Released in collaboration with GlobalData, a leading provider of data analytics, the research titled “Trading Up: The Current Preferences of Traders and Investors” unveils the correlation between payment behaviors, demographics, and trading affinities of 10,000+ traders and investors in Europe, Latin America (LATAM), the Middle East, Asia Pacific (APAC), and North America.

Access the full report here for a deeper understanding of how payment attitudes, choices and behaviors differ across geographies to help you localize your customer experience (CX).

Leveraging the report data, this article looks at regional payment preferences for deposits and withdrawals and how these differ across geographies.

Deposits: preference versus practice

When it comes to depositing into online trading platforms, preferences vary by region. In Europe, 38% of traders choose bank transfers as their deposit method, slightly higher than the global average of 36%. North America (44%) and APAC (40%) see a higher inclination towards bank transfers. In contrast, the Middle East lags at just 18%.

Among the five regions, credit cards are most popular for deposits in APAC, with 30% of traders and investors opting for this when funding their accounts, followed by the Middle East (24%).Nearly one in four North Americans opt for credit cards to pay into their online trading platform.

Debit cards, on the other hand, are the go-to option for 16% of consumers in North America – a similar level to LATAM.APAC shows the least interest in debit cards (11%), while they’re more popular in Europe (21%) and the Middle East (24%).

Digital wallets are widely used across all regions, with the Middle East (26%) and LATAM (22%) leading the way, followed by Europe (17%).

Age also plays an interesting role in payment preferences. Investors aged 65+ overwhelmingly favor bank transfers (61%), while younger investors (25-55) have a stronger tendency towards faster methods like cards and digital wallets. Seniors typically trade stocks, while the 18-25 age group is keener on lower-cost instruments like Forex, ETFs, and cryptocurrencies.

Payouts: preference versus practice

While bank transfers and payment cards dominate deposit methods, payout preferences reveal some intriguing regional differences.

In North America, over half choose to receive payouts via bank transfer, but 17% would rather receive funds to a card (compared to 14% currently). Notably, North America has the highest interest in crypto payouts (13%), though only 7% currently receive them.

More traders and investors are paid out in cryptocurrency in the Middle East than in any other region surveyed (15%). While the region displays the lowest interest for bank transfers (31%), and a high usage rate for digital wallets (20%).

Prepaid credit cards hold varying market shares regionally: most widely adopted in Europe (13%) and the Middle East (12%), moderately used in APAC and North America (9% each), and least prevalent in LATAM (5%).

Crypto payments are increasingly gaining traction across all five regions. In Europe, a growing number of consumers opt for receiving payments in crypto (7%), and digital wallets are also on the rise with 16% favoring this withdrawal option.

Despite regional differences, Worldpay’s research found one constant across the world: traders and investors value security, simplicity and speed most when receiving payment from online platforms.

Final considerations

Zooming in on the report data, distinct patterns emerge as we navigate the deposit and withdrawal options available to traders and investors in each region. Understanding these patterns is crucial to online platforms looking to expand in these geos, in order to offer what the local consumer wants.

To learn more about Worldpay’s tailored payment solutions and how they can help your business grow, contact the team.