Today, international e-commerce has huge moneymaking potential but research finds that many retailers have the potential to lose customers if they do not provide proper payment methods. A recent report reveals that 68 per cent of consumers have left an online retail site due to an insufficient payment process. As a result, retailers need to provide clients with their preferred method of payment in order to secure the sale. Below is a brief guide to payment preferences around the world courtesy of entrepreneur.com.
U.S.
– credit cards dominate
– eWallets are becoming popular
– 2014 survey found 79 per cent of respondents had made payments using PayPal, and 40 per cent through Google Wallet
Europe
– diverse payment market
– credit card sales are becoming increasingly popular
– many customers still prefer real-time banking options through which they’re redirected to their online bank accounts to submit payment
– some payment methods are pan-European, but most are localized per country
Localized European payment methods
– half of all online transactions in the U.K. are paid by credit card
– debit cards account for some 35 per cent of e-commerce payment
– PayPal is the country’s third most popular online payment method
– in France, Carte Blue debit cards account for 85 per cent of all e-com transactions
– in the Netherlands, iDEAL is a popular payment method in online stores
– in Finland and Sweden, real-time bank transactions account for up to 35 per cent of the market share
Pan-European payment methods
– SEPA (Single Euro Payments Area) is a European Union payment-integration initiative currently in the making
– 33 European countries are taking part in SEPA, in addition to 28 EU member states, the four countries in the European Free Trade Association and Monaco
– SOFORT payment platform offers currency conversion and is used in 10 European countries (Germany, Austria, Switzerland, the UK, Italy, Spain, Poland, Hungary, Slovakia and the Czech Republic)
Japan
– customers prefer to pay for online goods with cash at convenience stores called Konbinis
China
– Alipay dominates online payments claiming 60 per cent of market share
– PayEase is another popular payment service provider, enabling comprehensive payment services like mobile payments via SMS, internet banking, call centers and POS terminals
Asia-Pacific
– mobile payment systems are on the increase in the Asia-Pacific, with more than two-thirds of those acquainted with the methods using digital wallets and SMS payments last year
