LONDON, March 29, 2017 /PRNewswire/ --
- 39% of outages hit at peak time such as Black Friday,
causing significant damage to reputation and customer
loyalty
A new study commissioned by SafeCharge, a leader in advanced
payment technologies, has revealed that payment outages and
downtime are causing frequent disruption to merchants' bottom line
and growth abilities. The research 'Payments, Interrupted',
conducted by WBR Digital, surveyed 200+ CFO, VP Finance, Payment
Managers and Payments Controllers at large multinational retailers
across Europe.
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The research assesses the current performance and importance of
payment services in terms of availability and transparency. It
shows that reliability of service, along with the clarity of
financial reporting, are major factors for merchants seeking
business growth. It argues that payment providers must now
demonstrate reliability, as well as their integrity in delivering
these services.
Research highlights
- 76% of merchants in Europe
experienced at least one payments outage in the last year
- 42% of retailers in Europe
have experienced six or more partial outages in the last year
- 39% of outages hit at peak time such as Black Friday, damaging
reputation and customer loyalty
- 73% of respondents reported that payment outages lasted between
15 minutes and one hour
- 72% of retailers admitted to financial losses ranging from
€10,000 - €100,000 per outage, with 11% citing losses of €1m or
more
- 86% of respondents lack access to online reporting
functions
- 64% of respondents would like a more transparent payment
reporting
- More than 60% of respondents do not have access to 24/7 support
from a human
"Every second a merchant's payments system is down means
abandoned baskets, lost revenue and reputational damage. The
research clearly shows that a reliable and transparent payments
system is crucial to not only a merchant's bottom line but also
customer experience. It's no surprise that customer confidence
within a merchant erodes after experiencing payment friction due to
downtime," said Shemer Katz, Chief
Marketing Officer at SafeCharge. "There is a compelling need to
provide new payment processing capabilities which enable optimal
uptime and availability. SafeCharge has developed a fully featured
proprietary payment platform connected directly to payment card
schemes, therefore not depending on third parties, ensuring maximum
reliability of its services.
"Another finding that can't be ignored is the increasing need
for financial transparency. 50% of the merchants we spoke to have
no real-time access to fees, and 14% are not receiving a clear
picture of what they're being charged by their payment providers.
It's clear from the research that a lot of work needs to be
undertaken by payments providers, and that payments processes need
to be vastly improved for merchants. Payments has been likened to a
black box for far too long and we believe that by giving merchants
comprehensive insight into payments costs they will be able to
ensure business continuity, improve operations and make better
business decisions," concludes Katz.
The full report 'Payments, Interrupted' is available for
download.
About SafeCharge
SafeCharge International Group Limited is a global provider of
technology-based omnichannel payments services and risk management
solutions for demanding businesses. SafeCharge has a diversified,
blue chip client base and is a trusted payment partner for
customers from various verticals. The company is listed on the
London Stock Exchange AIM market (LSE: SCH). SafeCharge has built a
fully featured proprietary payment platform connecting directly to
all the main payment card schemes including Visa, MasterCard,
American Express and Union Pay as well as over 150 local payment
methods. http://www.safecharge.com/
Contacts
SafeCharge International Group Limited
David Avgi
+44(0)20-3051-3031
Tim Mickley
Press Contacts:
CCgroup for SafeCharge
Alan Miller / Abbie Godward
Safecharge@ccgrouppr.com
+44(0)203-824-9200