The Nordics – Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland – lead the way in digital maturity. With cashless economies, mobile-first behaviors, and a high volume of online shopping, Nordic consumers expect payment experiences that are fast, simple, and secure. Anything less risks losing their trust, and their business.
Payments shape the entire customer experience. To stay competitive, retailers must keep pace with evolving consumer expectations, regulatory shifts, and emerging technologies. This is especially important in the Nordics, where nearly all consumers shop online. Gen Z and Millennials are driving this growth, with 18% of Gen Z and 23% of Millennials shopping online several times per week.
Among Gen Z, 36% prefer local wallets like Swish, MobilePay, or Vipps, compared to just 17% of Baby Boomers, who still favor physical cards. With younger shoppers driving wallet adoption, offering the right mix of payment options has never been more critical.
Yet despite regional similarities, each Nordic country has its own currency, regulations, and payment habits. Success depends on taking a localized approach that meets consumer expectations market by market.
This guide shows how to build that approach, and how Checkout.com helps businesses master payments in the Nordics.
The Nordics payments landscape
Across the region, markets share a common digital-first mindset. While consumer behavior is broadly aligned, the mix of preferred payment methods varies, and meeting those preferences is key to conversion.
By 2022, mobile payments had overtaken cash to become the third most popular way to pay in the Nordics. Today, 59% of Nordic consumers use their mobile phone for online purchases, rising to 73% of Millennials and 68% of Gen Z. For increasingly impatient, mobile-led shoppers, pre-filled details and smart defaults are now essential to reduce friction at checkout.
Each country takes a different approach – here's what matters most in Sweden, Denmark, Norway, and Finland.
Sweden
Sweden is among the most cashless societies in the world, with almost half of consumers never using cash, and just 8% used it for their most recent purchases in 2022. Digital payments have become the norm for everyday spending.
Local mobile payment methods like Swish dominate, with around one in three Swedes using Swish or another local wallet for their most recent online purchase. Klarna continues to lead on flexible payment options, with Walley also standing out as one of the most widely used BNPL solutions in Sweden.
Meanwhile, Apple Pay is rapidly gaining ground, now nearly on par with Swish in popularity. This growing competition between global tech platforms and local, bank-backed brands reflects a broader shift in the Nordic payments landscape.
Denmark
Apple Pay has overtaken MobilePay in popularity, making a turning point in how Danish consumers choose to pay online. Most payments are made in Danish kroner (DKK), and MitID – the country’s national e-ID system – is commonly embedded into the checkout process to strengthen security and build trust.
Klarna continues to be a major player in Danish ecommerce, offering flexible payment options that appeal to a broad consumer base.
Norway
Vipps remains the go-to wallet for most Norwegians, backed by local banks and deeply embedded in everyday payments. It’s trusted, familiar, and widely used for both in-store and online purchases.
While card usage remains high overall, younger consumers are driving demand for mobile-first experiences. They lead the adoption of wallets like Vipps as well as BNPL solutions such as Klarna and Walley, setting the pace for how payments are evolving in Norway.
Finland
MobilePay remains a popular choice in Finland, serving over 11 million users across the Nordics. It ranks among the most commonly used payment methods in the country. For online purchases, direct payments from bank accounts remain the most preferred option – reflecting a strong culture of bank-based transactions.
Like shoppers across the region, Finnish consumers expect smooth, mobile-optimized checkout flows, with 49% of Nordic shoppers say they’re frustrated when checkout isn’t properly adapted for mobile. Klarna is also widely used, while Apple Pay adoption continues to grow.
What’s driving cart abandonment?
In the Nordics, cart abandonment often comes down to one thing: payment choice. A 2024 Nexi survey found that 63% of consumers cancelled a purchase because their preferred payment method wasn’t available – yet 54% of merchants still don’t support the region’s most popular local wallets.
The absence of a preferred payment method is the second most common reason shoppers abandon their carts – and among Gen Z and Millennial consumers, who lead mobile wallet usage, that number is even higher.
Choosing the right payment methods
A single payment setup won’t work across the Nordics. Each market has its own habits, regulations, and preferred methods – and getting it wrong can mean lost conversions.
Local essentials
- Sweden: Swish, Klarna, Apple Pay, Vipps, and Google Pay
- Norway: Vipps, Klarna, Apple Pay, and Google Pay
- Denmark and Finland: MobilePay, Klarna, Apple Pay and Google Pay
- Region-wide: Cards, BNPL, Apple Pay and Google Pay
Failing to offer these methods means missing out on a significant share of customers. Swish alone accounts for 39% of Sweden’s online checkout share – and recently surpassed 100 million payments in a single month. Growth is being driven by ecommerce and in-app payments, with commerce transactions up 8% year-on-year in May.
MobilePay and Vipps are trusted by over 11 million people across the region. Backed by local banks and integrated into everyday life, these wallets provide the speed and familiarity Nordic consumers expect. Miss them at checkout, and you risk missing the sale.
Regulations and risk: What merchants need to know
The Nordic payment landscape is shaped by a combination of sophisticated consumer expectations and robust European regulations. To stay ahead, merchants need to understand two key areas: consumer credit and data security.
The Consumer Credit Directive (CCD2) and the future of BNPL
BNPL plays a central role in Nordic ecommerce – valued by consumers for its flexibility and by merchants for its impact on conversion and average order value. But as digital credit use grows, so does regulatory scrutiny.
Set for full implementation by the end of 2026, the updated Consumer Credit Directive (CCD2) aims to strengthen consumer protection across the EU – especially in digital environments. Any business offering BNPL or other forms of consumer credit online will fall under its scope.
For merchants, that means adapting to stricter requirements in several key areas:
- Greater transparency: Standardized credit information – including the effective interest rate and total repayment cost – must be clearly displayed whenever credit is mentioned. This includes marketing, product pages, and checkout flows
- Real-time creditworthiness checks: BNPL providers must assess a customer’s repayment ability in real time, without adding unnecessary friction to the checkout experience
- Marketing restrictions: CCD2 bans credit being marketed in misleading ways. This includes “dark patterns” like pre-selecting credit by default or nudging users toward credit-based options
With enforcement expected to begin in late 2025, merchants are urged to prepare now. Early action means fewer disruptions and a better experience for your customers.
Ultimately, CCD2 signals a shift toward a more transparent and mature BNPL market. Flexible payment options will remain important, but merchants that act early and communicate clearly will be better positioned to thrive.
Rising expectations for security and trust
In 2024, nearly half of Nordic consumers said they experienced fraud within the past year, with many facing direct financial losses. As the region shifts from traditional card payments to alternative methods, the risk landscape is changing.
According to the Visa Nordic Payment Study, the percentage of consumers affected by fraud in the past year was:
- Sweden: 42%
- Norway: 57%
- Denmark: 55%
- Finland: 53%
The financial toll is significant. In 2023, fraudsters stole an estimated €828 million from Nordic consumers. And while some victims were reimbursed, 58% were not, with the average loss reaching €154.
For merchants, trust is everything. If a checkout experience doesn’t feel secure, customers won’t convert. That’s why Strong Customer Authentication (SCA) mandate is now a legal requirement under PSD2. It applies to most online transactions and relies on multi-factor authentication, combining something the customer knows (like a password), something they have (such as a phone), or something they are (like a fingerprint). Non-compliance can weaken a merchant’s position in chargeback disputes.
Biometric authentication, already part of BankID in the Nordics, offers a secure and low-friction way to comply with SCA. These tools can reduce the friction that typically causes drop-off without compromising security. But adoption still has room to grow: just 40% of consumers feel confident using biometrics like fingerprints or facial recognition, compared to 66% who are comfortable with national e-ID systems.
Mastering payments with Checkout.com
The Nordic region is led by the dominance of cashless payments, shaped by mobile-first habits and a strong emphasis on trust and security. Nearly two-thirds of consumers have abandoned a purchase when their preferred payment method wasn’t available, and with stricter BNPL regulations landing by 2026, merchants need to move fast to stay compliant and competitive.
Checkout.com helps you meet these challenges head-on. With expert support across Denmark, Finland, Norway, and Sweden, we provide localized guidance to improve performance, reduce costs, and scale quickly.
Flow, our customizable checkout solution, adapts to consumer preferences across markets – dynamically presenting the most relevant payment methods based on device, location, or currency. With support for 20+ languages and smooth configuration, Flow helps you deliver tailored experiences and boost conversions.
For mobile experiences, our Mobile SDKs offer native iOS and Android building blocks for a smooth, in-app checkout that aligns with your brand, simplifying compliance and extending your global reach.
With Checkout.com, you can easily offer the alternative payment methods your Nordic customers expect, all through a single integration:
- Vipps MobilePay: Trusted by over 11 million people across Norway, Denmark, Finland, and Sweden, Vipps MobilePay is the preferred way to pay in the region. Customers complete payment using their phone number and app – no card details needed – for fast, smooth checkouts
- Klarna: Europe’s leading BNPL solution. Klarna offers flexible payment options with full credit and fraud risk handled by the provider, helping you stay ahead of evolving EU regulation
- Apple Pay and Google Pay: Globally popular mobile wallets, increasingly used by Nordic consumers on both web and app
Our team of experts can help you design a setup that fits your growth goals.
Reach out to our sales team to start building your setup, or read our regional payments performance guide for practical insights and benchmarks.
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