Up to 17% of online shoppers abandon their cart when their preferred payment method isn't available (Baymard Institute, 2024). In a world where global cart abandonment already sits at 70.19%, that's revenue walking out the door. Not because of price, product, or UX, but because of a missing payment option.

Digital wallets now account for 53% of all global online purchases, more than double the share of credit cards (Worldpay Global Payments Report, 2025). In China, Alipay and WeChat Pay process over 90% of digital transaction volume. In India, UPI handles 83% of digital payments. In the Netherlands, iDEAL commands 70% of online transactions. The message is clear: the payments landscape has fractured into hundreds of regional preferences, and businesses that don't adapt are leaving conversion on the table.

This article breaks down what APMs and LPMs actually are, how they differ, which ones matter in which markets, the business case for supporting them, and how Juspay Hyperswitch makes it operationally feasible to offer 300+ processors and payment methods through a single integration.

What Are Alternative Payment Methods (APMs)?

Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) are any non-card payment method used to complete an online transaction. The term encompasses digital wallets, Buy Now Pay Later (BNPL) services, bank transfers, direct debits, cryptocurrency, and voucher-based payments. APMs exist because traditional card networks, while dominant in the US and UK, don't serve every market, every use case, or every customer segment effectively.

APM Categories at a Glance

The global APM market is accelerating. Digital wallet share alone is projected to reach 54% of e-commerce by 2026, up from 49% in 2023 (Worldpay, 2024). The BNPL segment hit $560 billion in GMV in 2025, with ~380 million users globally. Real-time payments are projected to reach 428 billion transactions annually by 2026 (IMF/PIB India).

What Are Local Payment Methods (LPMs)?

Local Payment Methods (LPMs) are payment methods that dominate a specific country or region, shaped by local banking infrastructure, cultural preferences, and regulatory frameworks. While all LPMs are technically APMs, the distinction matters strategically: LPMs are not optional "nice to have" additions. They are often the primary way customers pay in their home market.

Why LPMs Exist

Not every country followed the US/UK path of card-first adoption. In many markets, payment infrastructure evolved differently:

• Brazil: The central bank launched Pix in 2020 as a free, instant payment rail. It now handles 40% of e-commerce volume and processed 41 billion transactions in 2023 (Worldpay, 2025).
• India: UPI was built as a government-backed interoperable payment layer. It now accounts for 83% of digital payments and 49% of global real-time payment volume (RBI, 2024).
• Netherlands: iDEAL was created by Dutch banks as a shared online banking payment standard. It processes over 1 billion transactions annually and holds ~70% market share (Dutch Payments Association).
• Mexico: OXXO, a convenience store chain, became a payment method because millions of consumers lack bank accounts. It handles 50% of voucher-based digital commerce transactions.
• Japan: Konbini payments (7-Eleven, Lawson, FamilyMart) account for ~10% of digital payments because cash culture runs deep.

LPM Dominance by Region

APM vs LPM: What's the Difference?

The distinction matters for prioritization. When expanding into Brazil, Pix isn't a "nice alternative." It's the default. When optimizing checkout in the US, Apple Pay is an accelerator that lifts conversion by 22.3% (Stripe, 2025).

The Business Case: Why APMs and LPMs Drive Revenue

Conversion Impact by Payment Method

Stripe's analysis of 50+ global payment methods across millions of transactions provides the most granular conversion data available:

Source: Stripe, "Testing the Conversion Impact of 50+ Global Payment Methods," 2025

The Cost of Not Supporting Them

• 17% of shoppers abandon carts when their preferred method is missing (Baymard Institute, 2024)
• 37% of consumers say they won't return to a store that doesn't offer their preferred payment method
• Failed payments account for up to 15% of lost e-commerce sales (Adyen Retail Report, 2024)
• Retailers that localize payment methods see a 12% conversion increase when entering new markets
• Offering the top 3 payment methods (not just the most popular one) can increase conversions by up to 30%

The Integration Challenge: Why Supporting APMs/LPMs Is Hard

The business case is clear, but execution is where most companies struggle. The pain points are structural:

For a business wanting to offer 10 payment methods across 3 connectors, the traditional approach means 10 to 18 months of integration work, ongoing maintenance of 3+ API versions, and a reconciliation nightmare across incompatible data formats.

How Juspay Hyperswitch Solves This

Juspay Hyperswitch is an open-source payment orchestration platform that abstracts the complexity of multi-connector, multi-payment-method integration behind a single unified API. Here's how it addresses each of the challenges above.

Single API, 300+ Processors and Payment Methods

Instead of integrating each PSP separately, merchants integrate once with Juspay Hyperswitch. The platform normalizes all payment methods into a consistent type system:

• PaymentMethod (top-level): Card, Wallet, BankRedirect, BankTransfer, BankDebit, PayLater, Crypto, Upi
• PaymentMethodType (granular): GooglePay, ApplePay, Ideal, Klarna, Blik, Pix, etc.

A payment create call looks the same regardless of which connector processes it:

{
  "payment_method": "bank_redirect",
  "payment_method_data": {
    "bank_redirect": {
      "ideal": {
        "bank_name": "ing",
        "country": "NL"
      }
    }
  },
  "currency": "EUR"
}

Juspay Hyperswitch routes this to whichever connector is configured to handle iDEAL (Stripe, Adyen, or Mollie) based on your routing rules. The merchant never writes connector-specific code.

Dynamic Payment Method Filtering

Juspay Hyperswitch automatically determines which payment methods to show each customer based on:

• Country and currency: A Dutch customer paying in EUR sees iDEAL; a Polish customer sees Blik and Przelewy24
• Connector capabilities: If your Stripe integration supports iDEAL but your Adyen integration doesn't have it enabled, Juspay Hyperswitch routes accordingly
• Device context: Apple Pay appears only on Safari/iOS; Google Pay appears on supported devices

This filtering is configured via pm_filters in the dashboard. No frontend code changes required.

Hyperwidgets: Add APMs Without Replacing Your PSP

Hyperwidgets are modular, embeddable payment method widgets that let merchants augment their existing checkout without replacing their current PSP.

Traditional approach: 2 to 3 weeks of engineering per APM. Apple Pay alone requires domain verification, certificate management, and frontend SDK integration.

Hyperwidgets approach: One-time 2-week integration. After that, enabling new APMs (Apple Pay + Google Pay + Klarna + 10 more) is a dashboard toggle.

The SDK works across React, HTML, and Angular with a single JavaScript integration:

const hyper = window.Hyper(publishableKey);
const widgets = hyper.widgets({ clientSecret, appearance });
const checkout = widgets.create("payment", options);
checkout.mount("#unified-checkout");

Smart Routing Across Connectors

Juspay Hyperswitch's routing engine automatically selects the best connector for each transaction based on:

• Payment method support: Routes to connectors that support the selected APM/LPM
• Cost optimization: Routes to the cheapest connector for a given method
• Success rate optimization: Routes based on historical authorization rates per connector per method
• Fallback: If the primary connector fails, automatically retries on an alternative connector that supports the same payment method

Minimum Viable Payment Stack by Region

Key Trends Shaping APMs and LPMs (2024 to 2026)

Frequently Asked Questions

What is the difference between APMs and LPMs?

Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) are any non-card payment method, including wallets, BNPL, bank transfers, and crypto. Local Payment Methods (LPMs) are a subset of APMs that dominate specific countries or regions, like iDEAL in the Netherlands, Pix in Brazil, or UPI in India. The key distinction: APMs are additive (they boost conversion), while LPMs are often mandatory for market entry.

Which payment methods have the highest conversion impact?

According to Stripe's analysis of 50+ global payment methods, the highest conversion lifts come from local payment methods in their home markets: Alipay (+91% in China), BLIK (+46% in Poland), iDEAL (+39% in Netherlands), and Konbini (+27% in Japan). Among global APMs, Apple Pay delivers a +22.3% conversion increase.

How many payment methods should a business support?

There is no universal number, but research shows that offering the top 3 payment methods for each market (not just the single most popular one) can increase conversions by up to 30%. The minimum viable set depends on your target geography. See the "Minimum Viable Payment Stack by Region" table above.

How does Juspay Hyperswitch simplify APM and LPM integration?

Juspay Hyperswitch provides a single unified API that normalizes 300+ processors and payment methods. Instead of building and maintaining separate integrations for each PSP and payment method, merchants integrate once and manage payment method configuration, routing, and connector selection through a dashboard. Hyperwidgets further simplify this by letting merchants add APMs to an existing checkout via a one-time 2-week SDK integration.

What is the cost of integrating multiple payment methods directly?

Each new PSP integration adds 3 to 6 weeks of development time, and maintaining multiple integrations creates ~50 compliance tasks annually and averages 3 breaking API changes per provider per year. A payment orchestration layer like Juspay Hyperswitch eliminates this by abstracting connector differences behind a single API.