Checkout complete: Helping Europe’s longest-named towns pay online without the pain
February 3, 2025 | Waterloo, Belgium
Gwynfor Parry, of Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch. Credit: Sam Todd

Viktor Hed and Dennis Hed, from Skinnskatteberg. Credit: Jonny Clarke

Josef Mikeš, from Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav. Credit: Jonny Clarke

Janine Bronowska, from Międzybrodzie Żywieckie. Credit: Sam Todd

Juan Luis Gallardo Bolaños from Villanueva del Trabuco. Credit: Jonny Clarke

David Basmaci, from Westerhaar-Vriezenveensewijk. Credit: Jonny Clarke
They’re the names that keep on giving:
Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch.
Westerhaar-Vriezenveensewijk.
Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav.
And it’s a pain that’s keeps on giving, too, as anyone with a longer-than-average name is familiar in the digital age: filling in personal details at checkout. New research by Mastercard shows that nine out of ten Europeans still fill out their personal details for online shopping, including their full address and 16-digit card number. They take an average of three minutes to enter their address and payment details when shopping online, totaling nearly three hours over 56 shopping sessions in the average year.
No telling how much Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch — at 58 letters, it has the longest place name in Europe — throws off the curve.
That’s why Mastercard is teaming up with the Welsh town and six other “sesquipedalian” — a long way of saying long — towns across the continent to take the pain out of online shopping, with Click to Pay, a payment solution that does away with data entry once and for all: security and seamlessness in one click.
These towns with too many characters also include Poland’s Międzybrodzie Żywieckie, Czechia’s Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav, Italy’s Castelnuovo di Garfagnana, the Netherlands’ Westerhaar-Vriezenveensewijk, Spain’s Villanueva del Trabuco and Sweden’s relatively restrained Skinnskatteberg. They will become Mastercard Click to Pay Capitals, with on-the-ground educational activities to drive adoption of the time-saving and security-boosting technology.
“Having Europe’s longest name is a badge of honour for our village,” says Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch Councillor Dyfed Wyn Jones, “but having to type it out regularly is a recipe for repetitive strain injury. We’re proud of our heritage but also recognise the value of a good shortcut and the importance of technology that can make our lives easier as well as safer.”
“Our village’s name, with 22 characters, holds a rich history and is the longest in our area. While we take great pride in it, we understand that it can sometimes be challenging, particularly for visitors from abroad. And yes, it takes a while to type! We are delighted to partner with Mastercard on the Click to Pay Capitals campaign. I am confident that this partnership will greatly benefit our local businesses and consumers, as well as our community, helping them become more familiar with the opportunities that Click to Pay offers.” says Łukasz Harat, mayor of Czernichów, municipality of Międzybrodzie Życieckie.
Contactless payments revolutionised in-store transactions more than a decade ago, and now Click to Pay is fast becoming the standard in online checkout, delivering more ease and peace of mind to consumers while helping merchants overcome friction at checkout. According to the Mastercard survey, 95% of Europeans pulled the plug on an online shopping session last year when they faced friction or unwelcome surprises at checkout, from security concerns to lack of suitable payment options to just not having the right card to hand.
“If I lived in one of these towns, my card would have expired by the time I correctly typed in my address!” says Brice van de Walle, executive vice president, Core Payments, Mastercard Europe. “Thankfully, these digital solutions make life so much easier. Now we’re taking the next step: making one-click online payments the new normal as part of our commitment to phase out manual data entry online by 2030.”
Click to Pay uses a process called tokenization, which replaces a cardholder’s 16-digit number with a secure token, making it meaningless to a fraudster if stolen. This not only protects shoppers from scammers but also protects retailers from cyberthreats.
Whether they live in Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch or Lo, the monosyllabic medieval town in Belgium, consumers anywhere can look out for the Click to Pay icon at checkout or register their card with Click to Pay on their banking app.
Watch the film to see what the future of payments means for some of Europe’s longest-named towns. To find out more about Click to Pay visit: Click to Pay | Mastercard Europe.
Notes to editors
The Mastercard Click to Pay capitals are:
- Llanfairpwllgwyngyllgogerychwyrndrobwllllantysiliogogogoch (UK)
- Międzybrodzie Żywieckie (Poland)
- Brandýs nad Labem-Stará Boleslav (Czechia)
- Westerhaar-Vriezenveensewijk (Netherlands)
- Castelnuovo di Garfagnana (Italy)
- Villanueva del Trabuco (Spain)
- Skinnskatteberg (Sweden)
Mastercard worked with polling house, and BPC member, 3Gem, to conduct a nationally representative survey of 18,000 consumers aged 18+ across 12 European countries – including 2,000 UK consumers – between 26th November and 3rd December 2024.
European basket abandonment total based on an estimated adult population of 615 million.
One-click applies to users checking out with their Click to Pay profile on a recognised device, leveraging payment passkeys technology, or if the transaction is exempt from strong customer authentication.
About Mastercard (NYSE: MA)
Mastercard powers economies and empowers people in 200+ countries and territories worldwide. Together with our customers, we’re building a sustainable economy where everyone can prosper. We support a wide range of digital payments choices, making transactions secure, simple, smart and accessible. Our technology and innovation, partnerships and networks combine to deliver a unique set of products and services that help people, businesses and governments realize their greatest potential.