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The main findings from the report:
- Rapid rise of wallets: The use of digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay has grown by 63 percent in the Netherlands since 2023, completely changing the traditional checkout.
- The cost of friction: A poor payment strategy can lead to significant revenue loss. A case study in the report shows a failure rate of over five percent that can be reduced to nearly zero with the right approach.
- Local dominance remains: Despite a more unified Europe, localization remains crucial. In the Netherlands, iDEAL | Wero still accounts for sixty percent of the total payment volume.
'For years, the focus was on making payments cheaper. But that approach is no longer relevant,' says Koen Kappen, CEO of Mollie. 'The question is no longer: how do I make payments cheaper? The question is: how do I make them smarter? Every payment is a signal from your customer. Our research shows that many companies do not pick up those signals, and that costs them growth.'
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From cost item to growth engine
The report introduces the 'Signal & Strategy model', which helps companies to strategically leverage payments. By converting payment data into clear insights (Signal), teams can make targeted adjustments that increase conversion and accelerate growth (Strategy). This data-driven approach is crucial for companies operating internationally. "The European market is one on paper, but in practice a maze of 27 different rules," says Kappen. "That is why it is important that payments do not add more complexity but help maintain control over growth."
A concrete example is fashion platform Otrium. By optimizing its payment strategy together with Mollie, the company achieved an annual saving of €100,000. "The way you get paid is changing rapidly," concludes Kappen. "You can get caught up in complexity or use it to get ahead. This report helps entrepreneurs to lose less revenue and extract more value from the data they already have."
The full report Growing in Europe: Payments Report 2026 can be downloaded at: https://www.mollie.com/nl/papers/europees-payment-report
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