New Merchant Acquirer and ISO Data Published in ETA-Goldman Sachs Survey

ETA and Goldman Sachs Research have just published our annual ETA-GS Merchant Acquirer and ISO Survey. The Survey collected key insights from 71 merchant acquirers and ISOs of all sizes across the United States on emerging payments trends. Merchant acquirers and ISOs play a critical role in electronic transactions as they enable merchant adoption of electronic payment methods.

Among key findings, the survey revealed that competition is expected to intensify as large processers acquire smaller ones; loyalty-based solutions are expected to see growth as 81% expect increased adoption; and merchant acquirers have a positive outlook on the future of electronic payments, with 94% expecting volume growth to continue or exceed 2015 rates.

EMV terminal adoption is becoming more uniform across merchants of various sizes. A weighted average of responses suggest that approximately 55% of merchant terminals in the US could be upgraded to EMV by the end of 2016, an increase relative to 44% at the end of 2015. The majority of merchant acquires currently hold a “mixed or negative view” of EMV systems, but at the same time 27% expect the emergence of NFC technology to help save time in the long-run.

Overall, the outlook on payments volume is constructive. The ETA-GS survey results support our analysis of retail data in the United States, which points to healthy demand trends. In particular, we expect lower gas prices to translate to incremental discretionary spending over the course of 2016, which should support steady volume growth.

The full ETA-GS Survey results are a free benefit to ETA members and are available NOW. For information on ETA membership, please contact Del Baker Robertson, 202-677-7404 or [email protected].