APMs (Alternative Payment Methods)

APMs are payment methods beyond traditional debit and credit cards, including digital wallets, bank transfers, buy now pay later and local payment schemes, many of which are the preferred or dominant way to pay in specific markets.

What Are APMs (Alternative Payment Methods)?

Methods like iDEAL in the Netherlands, Pix in Brazil, UPI in India and MB Way in Portugal are widely used local alternatives. Alongside these sit globally recognised wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay, and instalment options like BNPL.

How APMs Work

Each APM connects differently: bank-transfer based methods like iDEAL or Pix authenticate through the customer's own bank, wallets like Apple Pay use tokenised card credentials stored on a device, and BNPL providers run their own credit approval before the merchant is paid in full upfront. Supporting several APMs typically means integrating with several separate providers, unless a merchant uses a payment orchestration or alternative payment methods platform that consolidates them behind one connection.

Benefits of APMs for Merchants

Offering the right local payment methods is one of the most effective ways to lift conversion in a new market, since customers are more likely to complete a purchase using a method they already trust and use daily. Merchants expanding internationally without local APMs often see this reflected directly in cart abandonment, covered in reduce cart abandonment with local payment methods.

Choosing the Right APMs by Market

Not every APM is relevant everywhere, so merchants typically prioritise based on local usage data. Cards vs APMs in Europe: finding the right balance and going global with alternative payment methods both cover practical frameworks for deciding which methods to add, and when.

Common Mistakes When Adding APMs

The most common mistake merchants make with APMs is adding methods based on global popularity rather than local usage data, which can add checkout complexity without moving conversion. Poor placement is another frequent issue: burying a market-leading local method below several irrelevant international options undoes much of its benefit. It's also easy to underestimate the reconciliation and settlement differences between APMs, since payout timing, currency handling and refund processes can vary significantly from card payments. Merchants that treat each new APM as a small project, with its own settlement and support considerations, rather than a simple checkout toggle, tend to see materially better results from their APM strategy.