What is the most popular online payment method in Portugal?
MB WAY, followed by Multibanco references and cards. MB WAY passed 6.5 million users in October 2025 and handles more than 70 million operations a month. In the ECB 2024 study, e-payment solutions such as MB WAY made up 33% of online payments in Portugal.
In detail
MB WAY, followed by Multibanco references and cards. MB WAY passed 6.5 million users in October 2025 and handles more than 70 million operations a month. In the ECB 2024 study, e-payment solutions such as MB WAY made up 33% of online payments in Portugal.
Payment by card in Portugal
Portugal's card market is built around Multibanco, the SIBS network that links Portuguese bank cards to ATMs, POS terminals and online payments. Most cards also carry Visa or Mastercard, which makes them usable abroad and on international websites. The Banco de Portugal 2024 payment systems report counts 30.0 million active cards issued by Portuguese providers, up 10.1%, and 521,700 POS terminals, 93% of them contactless.
Payment by bank transfer in Portugal
Account-based payments in Portugal go beyond plain transfers. Multibanco references, made of an entity code, a reference number and an amount, let shoppers pay online orders and bills at any ATM or in their banking app. Instant transfers took off in 2025: the Banco de Portugal counted 322.8 million instant transfers worth €140.9 billion, about 17 times more than in 2024.
More detail in our #PayWorldTour guide Payment methods in Portugal.