ETA Expert Insights: Merchant Trends at the Point of Transaction Across Europe

By Kelley Knutson, President, TSYS International Issuer Solutions & International Committee Chair

Technology is creating new experiences for shoppers and changing the face of payments in the process. The United States is home to many of the innovators driving these exciting changes, but is often outpaced by other economies when it comes to consumer adoption of payment technologies.

Europe in particular has made great strides towards embracing new ways to pay, from smarter chip cards to mobile wallets. ETA’s International Committee, as part of its mandate to assist ETA member companies in their efforts to expand overseas, examined the merchant landscape in the European markets identified above and highlighted several key developments to watch. The major trends defining the European consumer’s experience at the Point of Transaction include:

• Mobile Payments
• Mobile checkout (mPOS)
• Integrated commerce – specifically for small and medium businesses (SMBs)
• Convergence of brick-and-mortar retail with ecommerce – specifically for large retailers

European consumers are projected to spend $155 billion on mobile online purchases (known as mCommerce) in 2017. This amount represents 27% of total online commerce in Europe.

Point of Sale transactions using a mobile device (what we generally think of as mobile wallet transactions or mobile proximity payments) will total about $16.3 billion across 33 million consumers this year, representing an adoption rate of 6%.

Read the full whitepaper on the ETA website.