ACI Worldwide, Edgar, Dunn and Company: European retailers focus on payments strategy

The fifth annual survey found that merchants also see payments strategy as a way to reduce costs, improve customer service and provide differentiation in a highly competitive market.

Survey respondents, comprised of executives of major multichannel retailers across key European markets, demonstrate an appetite for new technologies that will help them to deliver quality, differentiated service to their customers, which they see as central to their retail strategies.

However, they are also mindful of the continuing need to improve productivity and control costs. 84% of respondents would consider working with third-party providers to support their payments needs, in response to the wealth of new technologies, apps, and payment methods now available.

Principal survey findings include: 78% of retailers say that customer experience is the key driver for new payments acceptance, 79% of retailers say that cross-channel interaction is the key to great customer experience, 69% of retailers identify data integration as a challenge for successfully implementing an omni-channel payments strategy, 48% of retailers are already taking advantage of mobile wallets, and this is expected to rise to 77% within the next 12 months.

Security of online payments is seen as an area of weakness, with 59% of respondents identifying effective fraud management as a standout challenge (up from 42%).

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