How to sell digital products in Portugal

Does Brazilian Portuguese work in Portugal, or does it need to be adapted?

Portuguese buyers understand Brazilian Portuguese, but your sales page needs to speak their language to convert. A course filmed in Brazilian Portuguese works in Portugal without subtitles. The problem is not in the content itself, but in what buyers read before payment: title, description, calls to action, and emails need to sound natural to a Portuguese person, not a Brazilian.

The most obvious differences are in everyday vocabulary. In Portugal, they say "comboio" instead of "trem" (train), "autocarro" instead of "ônibus" (bus), "miúdo" instead of "criança" (child), and "gajo" for "cara" (guy). If your course teaches a practical skill, technology, or a craft, these differences matter less. If it discusses local context, Brazilian cities, or solutions that only exist in Brazil, you will need to rewrite it. See also how this works in other countries in best countries to sell digital products.

Start by adapting your sales page and confirmation emails. Then launch a small ad test to Portugal with that localized version and measure if conversion improves. Most differences resolve with text revision, not with re-filming.

How do Portuguese buyers pay online?

Cards are the foundation, and MB WAY is the local method that has grown in recent years. Debit or credit cards resolve most online purchases in Portugal. MB WAY is a payment system from the Portuguese Banking Association: the buyer enters the phone number associated with MB WAY, and the transaction is confirmed in the bank's app or via SMS.

Multibanco is an ATM and electronic transfer network in Portugal, but for e-commerce it is not a direct method that appears at checkout. What appears is card, and sometimes MB WAY if your payment processor offers it. Bizum is Spanish, not Portuguese. Confirm with whoever processes your international payments which local methods are available. The full list of methods by country is in payment methods by country.

Digital wallets like Apple Pay and Google Pay also work in Portugal. A buyer who has Apple Pay configured on their card can use it to speed up payment on mobile. Showing these options at checkout reduces friction and abandonment.

What changes when the currency is the euro?

Converting your price from reais at the day's exchange rate does not define market value in Portugal. If you sell a course for R$ 297 in Brazil, it is not automatic to charge €50 in Portugal just because €1 = R$ 6. Portugal has different per capita income, different purchasing power, and an infoproduct market with its own pricing.

The practical approach is to compare similar offers already selling in Portugal and in euros. Look at who sells courses in your niche in Portugal and what they charge. See also who sells to Portugal from outside and what price they set. Use those reference points, not the exchange rate, to set your price.

Another consideration is margin. You may charge less in euros because acquisition cost in Portugal is different from Brazil, and the average order value you can maintain profitably may be lower. Test an initial price, and if conversion is too high or too low, change the price, not the ad creative. This separation teaches what was the real barrier.

How much does advertising cost for Portugal, and how should it be measured?

CPM in Portugal is different from Brazil because it is a smaller market, but conversion may offset that. In Portugal, cost per thousand impressions on Facebook or Google ads is generally higher than in Brazil because there are fewer local advertisers competing. But if your product is digital and the Portuguese buyer pays in euros, average order value in euros can deliver higher margin than in reals.

Track these metrics separately: clicks on the ad, visits to the page, people who reach checkout, people who complete payment, and people whose sale is approved. If many click but few enter the page, the problem is the landing. If they enter but few go to checkout, it is trust or offer. If they go to checkout but few pay, it is the payment method or card authentication. Traffic costs in each country are in CPM by country, and how to calculate average value per buyer in average order value.

Do not confuse total revenue with margin. If you sell 10 courses at €50 and receive €500, but spent €300 on ads and €50 on processing, margin is €150, not €500. Track the number per approved sale, not per total sale, because chargebacks and refunds reduce margin afterward.

Where does Mundpay fit in your Portugal sales?

Mundpay translates checkout to European Portuguese and converts price to euros automatically, all based on buyer IP. A buyer accessing from Portugal sees the page in European Portuguese and the final amount in euros, without you maintaining two checkout versions. The operation covers 190 countries, so you do not need to build separate infrastructure for Portugal, Spain, or Brazil on the same checkout.

Apple Pay and Google Pay also work on Mundpay checkout, reducing the steps to pay on mobile. Card processing passes through standard security authentication in Europe, and Mundpay support helps with chargebacks and fraud.

Sources reviewed

• MB WAY: how online payments work
• MB WAY: features and security