The shift in checkout behaviour
Alternative payment methods, or APMs, cover everything that is not a card: instant bank transfers, wallets, cash vouchers and account-to-account rails. In several large markets they already carry the majority of online spend.
Pix in Brazil, UPI in India, iDEAL in the Netherlands and BLIK in Poland all built dominance because they matched local habits better than cards did.
Why merchants follow
Conversion is the main driver. Showing a shopper the method they already use at home removes friction that no amount of design polish can compensate for.
Cost and finality also matter. Many bank rails settle quickly and carry no chargeback mechanism, which changes the economics of cross-border selling.
What cards still do well
Cards remain unmatched for global reach, recurring billing and consumer familiarity in travel and premium retail. The practical answer is rarely all-or-nothing.
The better approach is a market-by-market mix, with cards as the global baseline and local methods layered in wherever they carry meaningful share.
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