Creating the right mix of payment options means understanding local preferences, the checkout experience, and your specific audience. In Sweden, several payment options dominate the market. If your checkout doesn’t offer them, you risk losing customers. Below, we’ll explain how to choose payment options for Swedish businesses: what works, why it matters, and what it can do for your business.

What’s in this article?

• What are the main payment options for Swedish businesses?
  
• Why are payment options important for ecommerce in Sweden?
  
• How do you choose the right payment options for your webshop?
  
• How Stripe Checkout can help
  

What are the main payment options for Swedish businesses?

If you’re selling online in Sweden, you might start with five core payment options: cards, Swish, buy now, pay later (BNPL), digital wallets, and direct bank transfers. Businesses typically use a mix. Here’s a closer look at the core payment options you should consider including.

Card payments

Cards are the most common payment method in Sweden. Card payments remain the default on many sites, especially for subscriptions, cross-border purchases, or when Swish isn’t readily available. They’re familiar, trusted, and universally supported, but they do carry transaction fees and have a slightly clunkier mobile experience compared to newer methods.

Swish

Swish stands out as a local favorite. Backed by Sweden’s major banks and used by more than 8.6 million people, it lets customers pay instantly with just a phone number and BankID. Payments clear immediately, and the user experience is as fast and intuitive as it gets. The only catch is it’s domestic only. Swish requires a Swedish bank account so it’s ideal for local rather than international shoppers.

BNPL

Buying on invoice is deeply ingrained in Swedish payment culture, and BNPL services like Klarna make it even simpler. BNPL payments account for about 24% of ecommerce transaction value in Sweden. They’re particularly popular for larger purchases or customers who want flexibility. Swedish regulations require that direct payment options (e.g., Swish) appear first at checkout, but invoice-based options are still widely used.

Digital wallets

Apple Pay and Google Pay have gained some traction in Sweden, especially among younger shoppers, but adoption lags behind that of cards and Swish. Digital wallets simplify mobile checkout by storing payment info and using Face ID or biometrics.

Direct bank transfers

With bank transfers (e.g., Bankgirot, Autogiro), customers log in to their banks directly at checkout to make a transfer. It’s secure and appeals to those who prefer not to use cards online. Bank transfers generally come with lower fees than card payments and there are no chargebacks, but the flow can feel more involved than using Swish.

Why are payment options important for ecommerce in Sweden?

Checkout is where customers decide whether they want to finish what they started. The payment options you include are a big part of that decision. Here’s why payment options matter so much for Swedish ecommerce businesses.

Swedish shoppers expect local payment options

Swedes are used to paying their way. If you don’t offer the payment method they’re looking for, you’re signaling that your site might not be fully local or reliable. That’s particularly true for domestic shoppers, who know what a modern Swedish checkout should look like. If Swish or BNPL isn’t offered, they might leave before they finish the order.

The right options directly affect conversion

When customers don’t see their preferred methods, they might abandon their carts. The impact is measurable: Stripe data shows that adding just one relevant method beyond cards increases conversions by 7.4% and revenue by 12.0% on average.

Sweden has strict rules about checkouts

You can’t make BNPL the default in Sweden; you have to display direct payment methods before any credit-based ones. That means you need to support at least Swish or another direct method up front or your checkout isn’t compliant.

Payment preferences vary by context

A single customer might use Swish for a lunch delivery, a card for a recurring subscription, and BNPL for a larger retail order. That variability makes it risky to bet on just one method. Offering a mix of payment methods reflects how people actually shop.

Swish and digital wallets help with mobile checkouts

Slow, clunky mobile flows can lead to abandoned carts. Swish and digital wallets can help here by minimizing taps, autofilling everything, and handling authentication natively. A better mobile flow catches sales that would otherwise never be completed.

Multiple options can help when payments fail

When a card gets declined, your fallback plan matters. If Swish or Google Pay is right there as an alternative, the customer can switch methods and still complete the purchase. Without that option, you’re likely to lose the order. Multiple payment paths function like a redundancy in infrastructure: you don’t notice it until you really need it.

BNPL can increase average order value

BNPL can shape customer behavior. Customers are often more likely to buy—and to buy more—when they know they don’t have to pay all at once. This applies especially to categories such as electronics, home goods, and fashion, where many buyers want to try before they commit. Sweden’s longtime familiarity with invoice-based payments makes this feel typical and expected.

How do you choose the right payment options for your webshop?

To include the right mix of payment methods, you need to figure out what your customers want and how to accommodate their preferences without overcomplicating your stack.

Here’s how to get it done:

• Start with the basics: If you’re in Sweden and don’t offer cards, Swish, and BNPL, you’re already falling behind—these are expected, not optional. Once those are in place, consider accepting digital wallets or bank transfers for higher-ticket purchases.

• Know your audience: If you’re selling domestically, you’ll need card, Swish, and BNPL payment options. If you have an international audience, consider accepting digital wallets. Use your checkout data to gauge your customers’ preferences.

• Match methods to region: Germans might prefer direct debit, while Norwegians might use Vipps. A good payment provider can automatically localize the checkout to show the right methods based on location or device.

• Weigh cost vs. conversion: Some methods are more expensive for businesses (e.g., BNPL), but they can lift conversion and average order value. Others are cheaper and might work as the default in all contexts. Weigh what your customers will actually use against the built-in costs.

• Make it easy to manage: Instead of stitching together different integrations, use a platform that lets you turn methods on and off as you need them.

• Prioritize the user experience: A bloated checkout can be as bad as a limited one. Prioritize the methods your customers are most likely to use and present them clearly, with recognizable logos and a mobile-first design.

• Stay flexible: Consumer preferences shift, new methods launch, and regulations change (e.g., Sweden’s rule about not defaulting to credit-based payments). Choose a setup that lets you adapt without rebuilding your checkout.

How Stripe Checkout can help

Stripe Checkout is a fully customizable, prebuilt payment form that makes it easy for you to accept payments on your website or application.

Checkout can help you:

• Increase conversions: Checkout’s mobile-first design and one-click checkout flow make it simple for customers to input and reuse their payment information.

• Reduce development time: Embed Checkout directly into your site, or direct customers to a Stripe-hosted page, with just a few lines of code.

• Improve security: Checkout handles sensitive card data, simplifying PCI compliance.

• Expand globally: Localize pricing in 100+ currencies with Adaptive Pricing, which supports 30+ languages and dynamically displays the payment methods most likely to improve conversion.

• Use advanced features: Integrate Checkout with other Stripe products, such as Billing for subscriptions, Radar for fraud prevention, and more.

• Maintain control: Fully customize the checkout experience, including saving payment methods and setting up post-purchase actions.

Learn more about how Checkout can improve your payment flow, or get started today.