New Payment Technologies, Including Secure Remote Commerce and
Contactless, Help Address Merchant and Consumer Needs
American Express (NYSE:AXP) today released its 2019 Digital
Payments Survey, in which over two thirds of U.S. merchants (69%)
reported that significant amount of company time and expense is
dedicated to dealing with payment fraud. Nearly eight-in-ten U.S.
merchant respondents (77%) reported that their companies
experienced some type of fraud over the course of being in
business, and their efforts to manage security are impacting their
businesses’ bottom lines.
This press release features multimedia. View
the full release here:
https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191121005509/en/
(Graphic: Business Wire)
At the same time, the survey found that customer expectations
for ease and convenience during checkout are increasing, both
in-store and online. Therefore, merchants must find ways to balance
security with a seamless customer experience.
The survey, which examines the evolving landscape of online and
in-store payments in the U.S., highlights the need for payment
technologies that can meet both merchant and consumer expectations.
Technologies like EMV® contactless payments and EMV® Secure Remote
Commerce (SRC) are identified as capabilities that can help solve
these pain points and improve both the customer experience and
business operations.
FRAUD IS ON THE RISE
U.S. merchants surveyed estimate an average of 27% of their
annual online sales to be fraudulent transactions, a significant
increase from 18% in 2018. And compared to last year, significantly
more merchants agree that their business is vulnerable to payment
fraud across multiple channels, including mobile transactions (82%,
up from 73% in 2018), their website (79%, up from 74% in 2018), and
point-of-sale payments (66%, up from 55% in 2018).
Nearly half (42%) of consumers in the survey have experienced a
fraudulent attempt to use their credit card or other payment
information, and over half (59%) say they are worried about having
their payment account or credit card information compromised when
making an online purchase.
As a result, many merchants are investing more in payment data
security, with survey respondents reporting that they spent an
average of 33% of their IT budget this year on payment data
security, up from 27% last year.
CONSUMERS EXPECT FAST, SIMPLE AND SECURE CHECKOUT
OPTIONS
While merchants look to enhance payment security, consumers have
a desire to speed up the checkout experience, putting ease and
security of checkout at a crossroads. Consumers have come to expect
a fast and seamless checkout experience across all payment
channels, meaning that wait time and ease of the payment experience
have the potential to impact a sale. For example, 62% of customers
surveyed said they have left a store without making a purchase
after waiting too long in line to pay, while 85% have left items in
their cart and not completed the online transaction.
When it comes to digital payments, 55% of merchant respondents
currently store customer profiles and card payment information for
future purchases, with an additional 22% planning to do so in the
next 12 months. Yet 76% would prefer not to hold onto this data, in
order to alleviate costs and security concerns. The arrival of SRC
establishes a simplified way for customers to click to pay across
web and mobile sites, mobile apps, and connected devices,
eliminating the need for merchants to store sensitive payment
information. The SRC capability is starting to roll out with select
U.S. merchants, with wider expansion planned for 2020. It will
address an important need, since 80% of U.S. merchants in the
survey say they’d benefit from a technology that reduces the need
to store customer payment data, and a similar percent (79%) agree
that their online checkout experience needs to be simplified for
customers.
In addition to online checkout, consumers also expect a seamless
checkout experience in-store, and more than eight-in-ten merchants
surveyed agree that contactless provides a faster checkout option
for in-person payments (83%) and is more convenient for customers
than paying with card or cash (84%). Contactless is an emerging
favorite as a consumer payment option as well. One quarter (26%) of
consumers have used contactless at least once within the past six
months, a figure that is likely to increase as more contactless
cards are issued in 2020 and as a growing number of merchants in
the U.S. accept contactless payments. And contactless not only
addresses the need for convenience, but also for security, since
contactless cards contain the same security features as chip
payments – where payment information is encrypted and the purchase
details are routed for added security.
The majority of merchants responding to the survey are
interested in the benefits of other innovative payment security
solutions like biometrics, tokenization, and more. They
overwhelmingly agree that requiring a one-time password for
additional security to complete a purchase (77%), biometrics (76%),
and tokenization (70%) are effective in preventing fraud.
“The 2019 Digital Payments Survey shines a light on the most
pressing needs for our merchants and customers, and the findings
about the battle between convenience and security are striking,”
said Jaromir Divilek, Executive Vice President, American Express.
“We’re always looking to better understand our customers and their
everyday challenges, and the survey points to a real need for
emerging payments innovation to improve the online and in-store
checkout experience. We believe that Secure Remote Commerce for
digital checkout and contactless payments for in-person checkout
will be significant improvements for both merchants and consumers
in the U.S.”
To view the full report, please visit
https://network.americanexpress.com/globalnetwork/insights/.
EMV® is a registered trademark in the U.S. and other countries
and an unregistered trademark elsewhere. The EMV trademark is owned
by EMVCo, LLC.
METHODOLOGY
The 2019 American Express Digital Payments Survey is based on a
sample of 1,004 respondents weighted to U.S. census based upon
gender, age, education, race and region. Unless otherwise noted,
responses among consumers represent those who have made an online
purchase three or more times in the past 12 months based on
self-report. The anonymous survey was conducted using an online
panel August 15-20, 2019.
The Merchant survey is based on a sample of 400 business leaders
in the U.S. who have responsibility for making decisions regarding
customer payment options, IT/data security, or online sales
strategy and planning. Respondent companies must offer credit/debit
card or digital payment options to their customers in addition to
online/mobile payment. The anonymous survey was conducted using an
online panel August 22-September 4, 2019.
ABOUT AMERICAN EXPRESS
American Express is a globally integrated payments company,
providing customers with access to products, insights and
experiences that enrich lives and build business success. Learn
more at americanexpress.com and connect with us on
facebook.com/americanexpress, instagram.com/americanexpress,
linkedin.com/company/american-express, twitter.com/americanexpress,
and youtube.com/americanexpress.
Key links to products, services and corporate responsibility
information: charge and credit cards, business credit cards, travel
services, gift cards, prepaid cards, merchant services, Accertify,
InAuth, corporate card, business travel, and corporate
responsibility.
View source
version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20191121005509/en/
AMERICAN EXPRESS Melissa J. Filipek 212-640-8658
melissa.j.filipek@aexp.com
American Express (NYSE:AXP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Aug 2024 to Sep 2024
American Express (NYSE:AXP)
Historical Stock Chart
From Sep 2023 to Sep 2024