News

FIs rate well as providers of payment tech, but few are focused on it

May 5, 2016

A survey of more than 1,100 executives from leading banks, retailers and billing organizations across the Americas, APAC and EMEA has found that while 80 percent understand they are at risk of customer attrition, only 40 percent are focused on improving the customer experience.

The Global Payments Insight study, conducted by ACI Worldwide and market research firm Ovum, asked participants about their perceptions, expectations and behaviors related to payments.

Key findings of the survey:

• more than 50 percent of respondents cite security risks as the top issue preventing payments investment;
• more than 50 percent perceived banks as the better potential provider of payment technologies than third-party payment specialists such as PayPal, telecoms and software entities (e.g., Apple, Google) that offer mobile wallets;
• banks rate well in payment product categories such as contactless cards and real-time clearing and settlement (68 percent and 66 percent, respectively), as well as in less closely related banking fields such as as mobile apps (46 percent) and mobile QR codes (48 percent);
• retailers and billing organizations want to work together to provide a richer consumer experience and slash costs by cutting out intermediaries; 44 percent say they are taking steps to — or would like to — reduce the number of intermediaries in the payments value chain. Up to 90 percent of banks want to work directly with retailers and billing organizations.

"For banks, retailers and billing organizations, the key takeaway is that the customer experience is the primary imperative and this will not change. All of these players must satisfy shifting consumer demand and enhance their payment capabilities," said ACI SVP Paul Thomalla. "This means lowering payment costs, offering new value enhancing services, and most importantly, ensuring that security measures are being taken."