Payments Options Can Drive Profits

Offering more payments options, including electronic and mobile, can boost sales and increase revenues according to a recent study, entitled The Future of Money: How Digital Payments are Changing Global Commerce. The study, conducted by Ingenico ePayments, Oxford Economics and Charney Research for NTT Data, Inc., discussed opinions and outcomes with 2,000 consumers and 300 executives around the world.

Key findings include:

• Over the next three years, consumers expect to use 32% less cash.
• Nearly half (46%) of people under 50 years old expect they will increase their use of mobile money over the next three years.
• In developing countries, 69% of consumers prefer to buy from merchants who offer mobile payment options; in developed countries, 47% said the same.
• Security is the largest factor in peoples’ decision on whether to adopt mobile payments.
• Forty-three percent of businesses with annual revenue growth of 11% or more have an app that supports purchases and payments.
• Eighty-three percent of executives think of payment technology as a tool for meeting strategic objectives and 72% of say accepting mobile payments can boost their sales

The survey recommends that as part of growth strategy, businesses move toward “aggressively investing in innovation, including mobile and electronic payments.” It also suggests that merchants identify consumer security concerns and help to educate their customers on electronic payments safety.

Read the full study here.