Alternative Payment Methods

An alternative payment method (APM) is any online payment method that is not a debit/credit card. APMs includes open banking, cryptocurrencies, voucher payments, digital wallets, carrier billing and many more. For more information on APMs, see our article about the various types of payment methods.

The popularity of specific APMs differs from country to country. Some methods are only available in one country or specific regions, and even global APMs have different adoption rates in different areas.

One of the biggest advantages of alternative payment methods is that they allow merchants to reach those consumers who do not have access to a credit card. Aside from access to a wider market, consumer expect merchants to offer their preferred payment methods at checkout. Failure to offer the payment methods a consumer wants to use are one of the biggest reasons for cart abandonment.

The biggest downside to offering alternative payment methods is the need to integrate an additional payment service provider. However, payment orchestration platforms like IXOPAY make it much quicker and easier to integrate new payment providers. Payment orchestration platforms like IXOPAY use the same API to integrate all payment methods, eliminating the costs and long lead times otherwise associated with integrating new payment options.