The Netherlands leads in tokenized payments
The European Payments League ranks countries based on online spending behavior, the use of digital payment methods, and the adoption of security solutions such as passkeys. The Netherlands comes in first place thanks to strong digital skills, high online spending, and a wide adoption of digital wallets and open banking solutions. Germany follows in second place, while Sweden, Europe's largest e-commerce market, takes third place.
The launch of the ranking coincides with an important milestone for Mastercard: 50% of manual online card entry has now been completely phased out, in line with the 2030 goal to tokenize all online payments. The 16-digit card numbers are replaced by unique, encrypted tokens, allowing consumers to check out faster and more securely with options like Click to Pay.
The tokenization revolution: faster checkouts for online stores and consumers
For online stores, Click to Pay offers a frictionless one-click payment experience, meaning faster checkouts, increased conversion, and reduced fraud risks. For consumers, personal data is replaced by secure tokens that are worthless in the hands of a fraudster. Passkeys also play a role in the tokenization revolution. Here, consumers identify themselves using, for example, a fingerprint, facial recognition, or a trusted device, without a password. By investing now in modern payment solutions like Click to Pay and tokenization, Dutch online stores are responding to the growing expectations of consumers regarding speed, convenience, and security, keeping them a step ahead of competitors.
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Strong digital payment culture as a foundation
The Netherlands has had a strong and highly digitized payment landscape for decades. While in other European countries digital wallets are the major accelerators, Dutch people have long been paying quickly and safely directly from account to account. Due to this head start, the Netherlands is developing differently from neighboring countries. The transition to new solutions like tokenization and Click to Pay is taking place here from a high level of digital acceptance. Mastercard has been working closely with Dutch banks, payment institutions, and online stores for years, ensuring that innovations like tokenization and Click to Pay align with the digital payment needs that our country already has. The arrival of the renewed payment card currently being rolled out in the Netherlands, the Debit Mastercard, makes these innovations possible so that consumers can pay online even more easily.
'That the Netherlands is at the top of the European Payments League shows how familiar Dutch consumers have become with digital payments,' says Jan-Willem van der Schoot, Country Manager Netherlands at Mastercard. 'Convenience and security go hand in hand these days: the less you have to type and share, the smaller the chance of errors and fraud. With the Debit Mastercard and Click to Pay, we are building a future where safe online payments are the standard, and where Dutch consumers and online stores directly benefit from a faster and smoother checkout. Precisely because the Netherlands is leading in digital payments, we are developing our solutions here very consciously tailored, based on the way Dutch people already pay daily.'
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Peter Schmeichel as ambassador for safe and easy online payments
To highlight this milestone, Mastercard is collaborating with Peter Schmeichel, the Danish goalkeeper legend and former Manchester United goalkeeper. In a new campaign, he calls on European consumers to prepare for a future where long card numbers and passwords belong to the past. In the film, Schmeichel shows how payments should feel more like a simple "tap" than a complicated maneuver: fast, controlled, and secure.
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