AI Adoption Accelerates Across European Payments and E-Commerce, but Gaps in Trust, Talent, and Integration Persist, yStats.com Finds

Hamburg-based secondary market research firm yStats.com has published a new report, AI in Europe’s Payments and E-Commerce: Adoption Gaps, Regulatory Shifts, and Key Developments 2025, analyzing the regional expansion of artificial intelligence across the continent’s digital payments and E-Commerce sectors. The report uncovers accelerating AI adoption across both mature and emerging markets, while highlighting persistent challenges in trust, infrastructure, and talent that are slowing down full-scale integration. Drawing on country-level benchmarks and regulatory analysis, the study delivers insights into readiness levels across financial institutions, fintechs, PSPs, and retailers.

‍

AI Adoption Spreads, but True Integration Remains Uneven

Countries in the Baltics and Nordics are leading Europe’s AI adoption race, with well over 60 percent of enterprises in Latvia, Norway, and Estonia reporting regular AI use. Poland and Slovenia also show strong momentum, each with adoption levels exceeding the regional average. In contrast, some of Europe’s largest economies such as Germany, France, and the Netherlands are seeing slower progress, with significantly lower adoption rates. Spain remains further behind, with relatively few firms embedding AI agents into workflows. The report notes that while exploratory use is widespread, operational maturity is still lacking.  

‍

New Regulatory Frameworks Redefine Competitive Advantage

The convergence of the EU AI Act, DORA, and GDPR is reshaping how firms deploy AI in high-risk applications such as fraud detection, biometric onboarding, and credit scoring. The report emphasizes that firms able to integrate compliance frameworks into their AI strategy will benefit from a regulatory head start, while others may face delays beyond the proof-of-concept phase.

‍

Public Trust in AI Remains Fragile Despite Progress

Despite growing deployment and regulation, public sentiment toward AI remains cautious. In most European countries, less than half of users believe AI benefits outweigh the risks. Acceptance in Northern and Western Europe falls below 50%. Rising threats such as deepfake scams, synthetic identity fraud, and AI-generated phishing continue to erode public trust in financial AI applications.

“AI is now a foundational layer in European payments and commerce — but it’s still being applied like a bolt-on feature,” said Yücel Yelken, Founder and CEO of yStats.com. “Until there’s deeper trust, infrastructure, and talent, Europe risks falling into a compliance-first, innovation-lite trap.”

‍

Access the Full Report

For detailed insights across European markets, including adoption benchmarks, regulatory assessments, and fraud risk trends, access the latest yStats.com report: AI in Europe’s Payments and E-Commerce: Adoption Gaps, Regulatory Shifts, and Key Developments 2025. Contact press@ystats.com for more details.

‍