Europe

Payment methods in the Baltic States

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Updated

October 27, 2026

Ludovic Plisson

Chief Brand Officer

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How people pay in the Baltic States in 2026

Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania share the euro, the SEPA rails and the same group of Nordic and local banks, so one payment setup can serve all three markets. They are also among the most online-minded payers in Europe. In the ECB's 2024 consumer study, Lithuanians made 29% of their day-to-day payments online, the highest share in the euro area, and online payments reached 50% of payment value in Estonia.

The details still differ by country. Cash covered 39% of point-of-sale transactions in Estonia in 2024 and 21% of payments in Latvia in February 2026. Lithuania is the region's instant payment hub. At checkout, shoppers expect cards, bank links through aggregators such as Montonio, MakeCommerce, Paysera and Klix, and installment offers from local lenders such as ESTO and Inbank. To the south, our guide to payment methods in Poland shows how BLIK and pay-by-link shape a neighboring market.

79% of payments in Latvia were non-cash in February 2026 (Latvijas Banka)
83% of card payments in Estonia were contactless in Q1 2026 (Eesti Pank)
68% of euro payments processed in Lithuania's CENTROlink system were instant in 2025 (Bank of Lithuania)
29% of day-to-day payments in Lithuania were made online in 2024, the highest share in the euro area (ECB)

Payment by card in the Baltic States

There is no domestic card scheme in the Baltic States. Debit cards from Swedbank, SEB, Luminor, Citadele, LHV and Artea run on Visa and Mastercard, which dominate everyday transactions according to Latvijas Banka. In Latvia, cards accounted for 60% of all non-cash payments in 2025, and 2.3 million payment cards had been issued to individuals by year end.

Contactless is the default in stores. In Estonia, 83% of card payments were contactless in the first quarter of 2026, and Estonian residents made card payments worth nearly 3 billion euros in the second quarter. Online, cards share the checkout with bank links. Across the euro area, cards were used for 48% of online purchases in 2024, down from 51% in 2022.

For merchants, this means card acceptance with solid 3-D Secure flows and a clear process for every chargeback. Our guide to how card networks work explains the roles of issuers, acquirers and schemes.

Card schemes in the Baltic States

Visa

International card scheme

Visa is one of the two brands on almost every debit card issued by Baltic banks and fintechs. Latvijas Banka notes that Visa and Mastercard dominate everyday transactions in Latvia.

Mastercard

International card scheme

Mastercard is the other main scheme on Baltic debit and credit cards. Every acquirer and gateway in the region accepts it online and in store.

Contactless cards

Card form factor

Tap-to-pay is the standard way to pay by card at the counter in all three countries, with or without a phone.

83% share of card payments made contactless in Estonia in Q1 2026, Eesti Pank

Click to Pay

Card checkout standard

Click to Pay lets shoppers pay with a stored Visa or Mastercard without typing card details. Baltic gateways such as Klix by Citadele offer it next to cards and wallets.

Payment by cash in the Baltic States

Cash is shrinking but has not disappeared. In the ECB's 2024 study, cash accounted for 39% of point-of-sale transactions in Estonia, against 52% in the euro area. In Latvia, cash fell to 21% of payments in February 2026, about 3.2 cash payments per person each week.

Estonia and Lithuania now round cash totals to the nearest 5 cents: Estonia since 1 January 2025 and Lithuania since 1 May 2025. Card payments are still charged to the exact cent. Lithuania also caps cash settlements at 5,000 euros, and the Bank of Lithuania holds that a merchant may refuse cash when customers are told in advance which methods are accepted.

Online, cash survives mainly as cash on delivery at parcel lockers. Omniva alone delivered about 36 million parcels in the Baltic States in 2025.

Cash payment methods in the Baltic States

Cash at the point of sale

Banknotes and coins

Euro cash remains common in small shops, markets and among older shoppers. Cash totals are rounded to 5 cents in Estonia and Lithuania, as explained by the Bank of Lithuania.

39% share of point-of-sale transactions paid in cash in Estonia in 2024, Eesti Pank (ECB SPACE)

Cash on delivery at parcel lockers

Cash on delivery

Omniva, DPD and Unisend (the former LP Express network of Lithuanian Post, renamed in 2023) run dense locker networks. Since June 2026, Omniva recipients can pay cash-on-delivery parcels in the Omniva app before opening the locker.

15.7 million parcels delivered by Omniva in Lithuania in 2025, Omniva

Cash payment slips

Cash voucher

In Lithuania, shoppers can take a barcode slip at checkout and pay it in cash at Maxima tills, Perlas terminals or post offices, through providers such as PPRO.

Payment by bank transfer in the Baltic States

Bank links are the Baltic signature at checkout. The shopper picks a bank, approves the payment in the bank app and returns to the store, with the money already sent. Aggregators such as Montonio connect Swedbank, SEB, Luminor, Citadele, Revolut and Bigbank in all three countries, plus LHV and Coop Pank in Estonia and Artea in Lithuania. Artea is the former Šiaulių bankas, renamed in May 2025.

The rails underneath are instant. In Lithuania, 68% of euro payments in CENTROlink were instant payments in 2025, up from 60% in 2024, and 96 providers offered instant transfers. Payee name checks now run before each transfer: Latvia counted 57.4 million verification requests between October 2025 and February 2026.

For merchants, bank links bring low fees and no chargebacks. Read more on account-to-account payments.

Bank transfer methods in the Baltic States

Bank links

Pay by bank

Redirect payments from the shopper's online bank, offered by Swedbank, SEB, Luminor, LHV, Citadele, Artea, Coop Pank and Revolut. Merchants usually reach them through one aggregator rather than bank by bank, as Montonio and others do.

SEPA Instant Credit Transfer

Instant payment rail

The euro instant transfer scheme that settles bank links and account-to-account payments in seconds, every day of the year.

68% share of euro payments in CENTROlink that were instant in 2025, Bank of Lithuania

Montonio

Payment initiation

Tallinn-based checkout and shipping platform that bundles bank links, cards and pay-later options for stores in the Baltics, Finland and Poland.

8,000+ merchants using Montonio in 2026, Riga Comm

MakeCommerce (Maksekeskus)

Payment gateway

Estonian e-commerce gateway owned by Luminor since 2022. It offers bank payments from Baltic and Finnish banks, cards and pay-later options.

Paysera

Payment institution

Lithuanian payment institution offering accounts, cards and an online checkout that aggregates bank links. It processed 1.1 billion euros of e-commerce payments in 2023.

Klix by Citadele

Checkout aggregator

Citadele's checkout combines bank links from Baltic banks, cards, wallets and Klix Pay Later in one integration, with a strong base in Latvia.

3,200+ merchants using Klix at 31 March 2025, Citadele

Payment by installment and BNPL in the Baltic States

Installments in the Baltic States are a local business. Klarna is not offered to consumers in Estonia, Latvia or Lithuania, so the market belongs to regional lenders and banks. ESTO reached about 790,000 users and 9,000+ merchants across the three countries in 2025. Inbank originated 770 million euros of financing in 2025 across the Baltics and Central Europe, after absorbing its Lithuanian subsidiary Mokilizingas.

Banks compete at checkout too. Citadele's Klix Pay Later finances purchases from 50 to 7,000 euros, and its BNPL volume reached 10 million euros in Q1 2025. Common formats are pay in 3, pay in 30 days and longer hire purchase plans. For merchants, the lender usually carries the credit risk and pays the store upfront, while the shopper sees a local brand they already know. See how buy now, pay later works.

Installment and BNPL providers in the Baltic States

ESTO

BNPL

Estonian lender active in all three countries, with ESTO 3 (pay in three months), pay later and longer installment plans at checkout.

790,000 users across the Baltic States in 2025, ESTO

Inbank

Consumer finance

Estonian bank offering hire purchase and BNPL through merchant partners. In Lithuania it now operates as a branch after merging Mokilizingas into the group.

770 million euros of financing originated in 2025 across Inbank's markets, Inbank

Klix Pay Later

Bank BNPL

Citadele's installment product, with interest-free Klix 1, Klix 3 and Klix 6 plans for purchases from 50 to 7,000 euros.

10 million euros of BNPL volume in Q1 2025, Citadele

Payment by digital wallet and X-Pay in the Baltic States

Phone payments are climbing fast. In Latvia, 32% of people paid with a smartphone every day in February 2026, up from 21% in August 2025. Across the euro area, wallets and payment apps covered 29% of online transactions in 2024, up from 26% in 2022.

Apple Pay and Google Pay carry the Visa and Mastercard debit cards of Baltic banks, and gateways such as Klix show them at checkout next to cards. Account-based fintechs blur the line between wallet and bank: Revolut is a bank link option in all three countries, and Paysera runs accounts, cards and checkout from Lithuania. For merchants, device wallets cut typing on mobile while running on the same card rails, fees and dispute rules as cards. Learn more about X-Pay and the Apple Pay integration challenges.

Digital wallets and X-Pay in the Baltic States

Apple Pay

Device wallet

Supported by the main Baltic banks and fintechs, Apple Pay is used for contactless payments in store and one-tap checkout online.

Google Pay

Device wallet

The Android counterpart, available through Baltic bank cards and offered by local gateways such as Klix.

Revolut

Fintech account

Popular multi-currency account in the Baltic States. Shoppers pay with Revolut cards or select Revolut as a bank link at checkout.

Paysera

E-money wallet

Lithuanian e-money account and app with cards, transfers and in-app payments, used across the region and active in 30 countries.

Payments in the Baltic States: FAQ

What is the most common way to pay online in the Baltic States?

Cards and bank links lead online checkout in all three countries. Shoppers in the region pay online more than most Europeans: 29% of day-to-day payments in Lithuania were made online in 2024. Merchants usually offer Visa, Mastercard, Apple Pay and Google Pay alongside bank links from the main local banks.

Is cash still used in the Baltic States?

Yes, but less every year. Cash made up 21% of payments in Latvia in February 2026 and 39% of point-of-sale transactions in Estonia in 2024. Estonia and Lithuania round cash totals to 5 cents, while card payments stay exact.

Is Klarna available in Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania?

No. Klarna does not list the Baltic States among its consumer markets. Local players fill the gap: ESTO, Inbank and Citadele's Klix Pay Later offer pay in 3, pay later and installment plans.

How fast are bank transfers in the Baltic States?

Most are instant. In Lithuania, 68% of euro payments in CENTROlink were instant in 2025. Bank links built on these rails confirm payment to the merchant within seconds.

Accept local payments in the Baltic States with NORBr

In Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania, aggregators such as Montonio, MakeCommerce and Paysera bundle bank links, cards and BNPL. A PSP, PayFac, ISO or ISV should check coverage of all three countries, bank links in each and SEPA Instant.

With NORBr, you can connect any acquirer, PSP or local provider that offers bank links from Swedbank, SEB and Luminor, SEPA Instant and pay-later options such as ESTO and Inbank. Some are already in our connector catalog; Mapper™ gets the others live in days, and Smart Checkout shows each shopper the right methods. Explore the other #PayWorldTour guides.

Local payment providers in the Baltic States

Montonio

Aggregator

Tallinn-based checkout provider covering bank payments, cards, BNPL and shipping integrations for e-commerce merchants across Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania.

Covers: Bank links, Cards, Apple Pay, Google Pay, BNPL