Online Bill Payments Statistics in United Kingdom (2026)

According to World Bank Global Findex data, 52.4% of adults in the United Kingdom paid bills online or from a mobile phone in 2021. Down from 61.7% in 2017 to 52.4% in 2021 (−9.3 percentage points). United Kingdom ranks #23 of 46 economies in Europe & Central Asia on this measure, and #35 of 142 globally.

Key Statistics

Latest value (2021): 52.4% (2021); Online Bill Payments in the United Kingdom as of 2021, the most recent observation in World Bank Global Findex data.
Change since 2017: −9.3 pp (2021); Down from 61.7% in 2017 to 52.4% in 2021 (−9.3 percentage points).
Peak value (2017): 61.7% (2017); Highest value in the available series; the 2021 value is 52.4%.
Rank in Europe & Central Asia: #23 of 46 (2021); The United Kingdom ranks 23 of 46 countries in Europe & Central Asia with data, based on each country's latest value.
Global rank: #35 of 142 (2021); The United Kingdom ranks 35 of 142 countries with data globally.
Europe & Central Asia average: 50.1% (2021); The United Kingdom (52.4%) is above the average of 50.1% across the 46 countries in Europe & Central Asia with data.
Among women (2021): 52.8% (2021); Value for women in the United Kingdom, same 2021 World Bank Global Findex data.
Among men (2021): 51.9% (2021); Value for men in the United Kingdom, same 2021 World Bank Global Findex data.
Gender gap (women minus men): +0.9 pp (2021); In 2021, the figure was 52.8% for women and 51.9% for men — 0.9 percentage points higher among women.
Among the poorest 40% (2021): 50.7% (2021); Value for adults in the poorest 40% of households in the United Kingdom in 2021.
Poorest-40% gap vs national: −1.7 pp (2021); The poorest 40% (50.7%) are 1.7 percentage points below the national figure (52.4%).
Internet use in the United Kingdom (2024): 95.5% (2024); 95.5% of the population in the United Kingdom used the internet in 2024 (World Bank); shown for context only.
Population (2024): 69.2 million (2024); The United Kingdom had a population of 69.2 million in 2024 (World Bank); shown for scale only.

Trend, 2017–2021

Online Bill Payments in United Kingdom by year (% of adults (age 15+))
Year	% of adults (age 15+)	Change
2021	52.4%	−9.3 pp
2017	61.7%	—

Frequently asked questions

What share of adults in the United Kingdom paid bills online or from a mobile phone?

52.4% of adults in the United Kingdom paid bills online or from a mobile phone in 2021, according to World Bank Global Findex data.

Is there a gender gap in online bill payments in the United Kingdom?

Yes — in 2021 the figure was 52.8% for women and 51.9% for men, a gap of 0.9 percentage points in favor of women.

When did online bill payments in the United Kingdom peak?

The highest value in the available series was 61.7% in 2017; the latest (2021) value is 52.4%.

How recent is the online bill payments data for the United Kingdom?

The most recent observation is from 2021. World Bank Global Findex data is reported with a lag, so 2021 is the latest available year for the United Kingdom.

Where does the online bill payments data for the United Kingdom come from?

The data comes from the World Bank Global Findex (indicator fin26a). The latest observation for the United Kingdom is from 2021; the snapshot was retrieved on 2026-06-10.

Source & methodology

Source: World Bank Global Findex, indicator fin26a, retrieved 2026-06-10.

Figures are shown exactly as published in the source dataset; only the change column of the trend table is computed from adjacent published values.Read more on the methodology page. All figures are estimates and projections; this is not financial advice.

Last updated 2026-06-10.