Your Customer’s Favorite Ways to Pay, and How UltraCart Covers Them All

If your eCommerce storefront matches how shoppers already pay, your checkout converts more, especially on mobile. Below is a clear look at the top payment solutions globally and in the U.S., how preferences have shifted over the last five years, what’s next, and where UltraCart fits in. This includes Purchase Orders, Quote Requests, ACH/eChecks, and Cash for Local Pickup.

The Global Picture: Wallets on Top, Cards Endure, BNPL Scales

• Digital wallets are #1 worldwide. In 2023–2024 they account for roughly ~50–53% of global eCommerce transactions and continue to grow. ^1,2
• Cards remain foundational. Credit and debit together still represent about a third of global online spend, and they often power the wallets behind the scenes. ³
• BNPL is mainstream. Roughly ~5% of global eCommerce in 2023, with steady growth, especially in North America and Europe. ⁴

Five-year trend (2019 → 2024): Wallets climbed materially, direct card entry declined as a share, and BNPL jumped from niche to meaningful. ¹

Next five (2025 → 2030): Wallets extend their lead, cards stay critical inside wallets, and BNPL grows with clearer disclosures and guardrails. ^2,8

U.S. Snapshot: Cards + Wallets Dominate; BNPL Familiar

• Wallet usage is surging and is on track to cross half of online checkouts in the coming years. ^7,1
• Cards are strong for higher-ticket, subscriptions, and business spend.
• BNPL is widely recognized and visible across major merchants, concentrated around mid-ticket AOVs. ⁴

What UltraCart Covers Today
Consumer + B2B

Consumer favorites

• Cards: Visa, Mastercard, AmEx, Discover, JCB, Diners Club
• Digital wallets / fast pay: PayPal, Venmo, PayPal Fastlane, Link, Apple Pay, Google Pay, Amazon Pay
• BNPL: PayPal Pay Later, Affirm, Klarna, Afterpay/Zip, Sezzle
• Crypto (via PayPal)

Together, wallets + cards + BNPL cover nearly all of how consumers pay online today, so you’re meeting almost every buyer preference with minimal friction. ^1,2,3

Advanced Payment Methods & Logic

UltraCart also supports methods that matter for B2B, high-ticket, and hybrid retail, where “Pay Now” isn’t always the path:

• Purchase Orders (POs). Offer approved terms for B2B buyers. Great for procurement workflows, repeat orders, and organizations that must issue POs.
• Quote Requests. Convert negotiated or custom pricing into orders. Sales proposes, customers approve, and UltraCart turns it into a payable order.
• Electronic Checks (ACH/eChecks). Cut card fees on repeat or high-ticket orders. Useful for subscriptions, wholesale, and industries with slim margins. B2B ACH volume continues to rise. ⁵
• Cash for Local Pickup. Ideal for hybrid retail and BOPIS where the order is reserved online and settled in person.

Why these matter

• They extend coverage beyond consumer checkout into B2B and operational use cases, reducing off-platform invoicing and manual collections.
• They lower friction for buyers who can’t or won’t use cards or wallets due to procurement policies, credit limits, or fee sensitivity.
• They improve margin (ACH) and speed approvals (Quotes/POs), while keeping order data unified for fulfillment, taxes, and reporting.

Regional note: In markets like Germany and the broader DACH region, invoice or pay-after-delivery has historically represented a large share of eCommerce orders, so supporting invoice-style flows is important, ⁶

Five-Year Lookback 2019–2024

• Wallet buttons gained everywhere, especially on mobile.
• Direct card entry declined as a share, but card rails remain essential.
• BNPL went mainstream and adoption normalized.
• B2B eCommerce accelerated, pushing more merchants to support POs, quotes, ACH, and blended online/offline payment flows. ^1,8

Five-Year Outlook 2025–2030

• Wallets pass 50%+ globally and become the default UX on both mobile and desktop. ²
• BNPL growth continues with more responsible offers ⁴.
• Account-to-Account (A2A)/Pay-by-Bank expands (ACH in the U.S., bank transfers elsewhere) for cost reduction and faster settlement; if you already use UltraCart’s ACH/eChecks, you’re aligned. ⁸
• B2B digitalization keeps rising, with more PO/quote-to-order flows and embedded terms at checkout. ⁸
• Hybrid retail grows, keeping Cash for Local Pickup relevant for certain verticals. ⁸

Implementation Blueprint

Your goal is simple: show the fastest, most trusted ways to pay first, then reveal everything else based on context. Lead with one-tap options for mobile, keep card entry easy, and surface BNPL or B2B methods only when the cart or buyer profile calls for them. This reduces decision fatigue, speeds checkout, and keeps your eCommerce storefront responsive on every device.

1. Top row (express): Apple Pay, Google Pay, PayPal Fastlane, and Venmo/Link if applicable.
2. Primary form: Saved card plus card entry (tokenized).
3. Contextual BNPL: Show when AOV or cart rules qualify.
4. B2B & high-ticket rails: Present PO, Quote, ACH based on buyer profile or cart logic.
5. Local pickup path: Offer Cash for Local Pickup when fulfillment is pickup.
6. A/B test placement and messaging; optimize for responsive eCommerce and mobile optimization.

Future-Ready: Crypto & Agentic Commerce

• Crypto without complexity. “Pay with Crypto” (via PayPal) lets you meet crypto-savvy buyers while you settle in fiat, a pragmatic path as stablecoins and faster cross-border rails mature.
• Agentic commerce ready. UltraCart integrates with PayPal’s agentic checkout surfaces, enabling chat-based discovery and payment so your interactive eCommerce stays compatible as AI-assisted shopping grows.

Bottom Line

UltraCart covers the payment methods customers already prefer—wallets, cards, BNPL—and the workflows businesses actually run—POs, quotes, ACH, cash for pickup. That gives you near-total coverage of today’s consumer and B2B payment behavior. With Crypto and agentic commerce in the mix, you’re positioned for whatever customers want to use next.

Sources & References