Payments and e-commerce in Iceland

Around 80% of Icelanders shop online for at least some of their purchases [1]. The top-selling categories are fashion, electronics and home furnishings [2].  Icelanders love to shop cross-border, with favourite online-shopping destinations including the UK, US and China [3]. Iceland follows EU e-commerce regulations, making cross-border trade easier for EU-based merchants [4].

Just under 100% of all Icelanders have a bank account and Internet access, greatly simplifying any e-commerce strategy. The European Payments Council describes the country as “cashless Iceland” [5]. This makes support for digital payments crucial to any e-commerce strategy. This is particularly true, as Iceland’s central bank is pushing for the creation of more domestic digital payment methods [6].

1. https://ecommerce-europe.eu/research-figure/iceland/
2. https://ecommercedb.com/en/markets/is/all
3. https://www.statista.com/statistics/1023213/countries-of-most-recent-online-purchase-in-iceland
4. https://www.tradeclub.stanbicbank.com/portal/en/market-potential/iceland/ecommerce
5. https://www.europeanpaymentscouncil.eu/news-insights/insight/country-profile-cashless-iceland
6. https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-08-25/national-security-has-iceland-pushing-for-domestic-payment-tool