How do people in Slovakia pay online?
Most Slovaks shop online. Eurostat puts the share of people who bought something online in the previous 12 months at 78.76% in 2025, above the EU average of 73.56%.
Cards lead the payments made online. In the ECB’s 2024 survey of consumer payments (SPACE), cards made 55.7% of Slovak consumers’ online payments by number, above the euro area figure of 48%. E-payment solutions, which the ECB defines as payment wallets, PayPal and other mobile apps, made 21.5%. Credit transfers made 8.0% and instant payments 3.1%.
Cash on delivery is the Slovak exception. Data from Shoptet, which runs more than 7,600 Slovak online stores, show that more than 43% of orders on its stores are paid on delivery, often with an extra fee of about EUR 0.50 to 1. Card payment through Shoptet’s own gateway covered 27.6% of purchases and bank transfer 9.2%. Cash on delivery is paid to the courier, so it never reaches an online payment flow.
Apple Pay and Google Pay are both available in Slovakia, according to Apple’s and Google’s own country lists, so shoppers can pay with a stored card from their phone.
What rules shape online payments in Slovakia?
VAT is 23%. PwC notes that the standard rate rose from 20% to 23% on 1 January 2025, with reduced rates of 19% and 5%, and that from 1 January 2026 some products such as confectionery moved from 19% to 23%. A seller established in another EU country whose cross-border sales to consumers pass EUR 10,000 a year charges Slovak VAT and can declare it through the One Stop Shop.
Shoppers have 14 days to withdraw. Under EU consumer rules, the period for goods runs from the day of delivery. Since 19 June 2026 online shops must also offer an electronic withdrawal function, a clearly labelled button that lets the consumer withdraw online, under Directive (EU) 2023/2673.
Card payments need strong customer authentication and cannot carry a surcharge. Your Europe explains that online payments above EUR 30 need at least two authentication elements and that sellers may not charge extra for paying by credit or debit card.
Instant payments are standard. Under the EU Instant Payments Regulation, euro area banks must receive instant transfers since 9 January 2025 and send them, with a check of the payee’s name against the IBAN, since 9 October 2025, at no higher price than a standard transfer.
Personal data falls under the GDPR, supervised in Slovakia by the Office for Personal Data Protection (Úrad na ochranu osobných údajov).
How would Omno route payments in Slovakia?
A merchant would connect once and set routing rules per method, amount and customer group. In Slovakia:
- Card pay-ins would follow rules by BIN, currency and amount, with cascading: if a provider is unavailable or rejects the request, the payment moves to the next provider in the rule until one accepts.
- Apple Pay and Google Pay would be shown in the hosted checkout through providers that support them, so mobile shoppers can pay without typing a card number.
- PayPal and bank transfers would go to providers that support them, with the final status confirmed by webhook before an order ships.
- Cash on delivery would stay with the courier, while the merchant could set rules that offer card or wallet payment first to returning customers.
The routing-decision log would show which provider handled each payment and why.
What should merchants plan for?
Plan for cards first, with Apple Pay and Google Pay next to the card form. Cards carry most of the online payments that Slovaks make.
Plan for cash on delivery. A large share of Slovak shoppers still expect it, so moving them to online payment means making the card and wallet options quick and visible.
Plan for the withdrawal button. Add the online withdrawal function required since 19 June 2026 to the order pages.
Plan for VAT at 23%. Check whether your EU sales pass the EUR 10,000 threshold and register for the One Stop Shop if they do.