If you sell online across Europe, you quickly learn that one checkout does not fit everyone. A shopper in the Netherlands may expect iDEAL, a Swede may look for Swish or Klarna, and a customer in Central or Eastern Europe may still prefer to pay the courier when the parcel arrives. Understanding these habits is often the difference between a full cart and an abandoned one.
Where cash on delivery still matters
Cash on delivery has faded in many Western markets, but it remains a familiar option in parts of Central and Eastern Europe and the Balkans. In Hungary, it is widely known as utánvét, and many shoppers still expect to see it at checkout, especially when ordering from a store they have not used before. The reason is trust rather than technology. Paying at the door removes the fear of sending money to a shop that might never deliver.
What this means for your store
Offering COD in a market like Hungary can lift conversions, but it comes with costs: courier fees, slower cash flow and a higher rate of refused parcels. Many merchants handle this by adding a small COD surcharge, limiting it to orders under a certain value, or offering it only to returning customers. Others encourage card payment with free shipping, nudging shoppers toward prepaid orders without removing the option they trust.
Trust habits spill into other online industries
Payment preferences do not stop at retail. The same caution that makes Hungarian shoppers choose utánvét shapes how they approach subscriptions, travel bookings and online entertainment. Consumers want local-language support, familiar payment methods and clear terms before they hand over money. In gaming, this is visible in the guides that compare online kaszinók magyar játékosoknak, which focus heavily on deposit and withdrawal methods, verification steps and how quickly payouts arrive. Those sites are for adults only (18+), and responsible play with fixed limits is part of the advice they give. For a store owner, the lesson is the same: show the payment methods people already trust, explain the process plainly, and remove surprises.
A practical checklist before expanding
- Research the top three payment methods in each target country, not just the ones your platform supports by default.
- Translate the checkout, including error messages and delivery notes.
- Test COD with limits before rolling it out to every order.
- Track refused deliveries by region so you can adjust quickly.
Payment is the last step of the buying journey, but for many customers it is the one that decides whether they buy at all. Matching local expectations is one of the cheapest ways to grow in a new market.
About this article
- Fact-checked by Moira Hensley before publication.
- Published