European Online Payments: Research by Mercator Advisory Group

April 19, 2012 - PRLog -- Boston, MA -- Although Europe is the world's largest e-commerce market with robust 2011 online sales and strong projections of future sales. The market faces tremendous challenges such as lacking regulation and insufficient online payment options. The European Commission (EC) is implementing many corrective actions in hopes of doubling the market by 2015. Many factors contribute to opportunity in this market, including increases in online banking-based payment services leveraging existing high banking account penetration and usage.Other online payment methods like prepaid e-commerce vouchers and online wallets (designed to protect consumer data from fraud) are growing in popularity.

Mercator Advisory Group's latest research, European Online Payments, provides an up-to-date overview of the overall e-commerce and online payment card market in Europe in 2011. The current market situation and growth of the European eCommerce market are discussed, alongside other issues and challenges. Additional topics include regulator efforts to accelerate market development, various types of online payment options available (along with factors affecting their adoption), high-level profiles of online payment markets in 12 major European countries, and an introduction to select major online payment service providers in the market and recent developments.

"The European online payments market has rapidly evolved over the past decade," Terry Xie, Director of Mercator Advisory Group's International Advisory Service and author of the report, comments. "But development in different markets has often been isolated. Different markets have developed solutions to serve their consumers' needs in the quickly growing e-commerce market. That has worked well but is not going to support the market's further long-term growth as the European market increasingly becomes one both offline and online."

Highlights of the research findings include:

Market projections and recent growth rates for European e-commerce and online payment markets

Diversity of the European online payment mix because countries' markets differ significant in size, growth rate, and market penetration

Factors and dynamics affecting the differing rate of adoption for card payments across the European markets

Actions European regulators are taking to foster optimal growth

Changes the European online payment market can expect as regulators and the industries push the PSD and the SEPA initiatives forward

This report contains 30 pages and nine exhibits.

Companies and services mentioned in this report include: ClickandBuy, PayPal, Amazon, iDEAL, Google, Ukash, Paysafecard, Giropay, Moneybookers/Skrill, DIRECTebanking.com, MasterCard/Maestro, UseMyBank, eDankort, Bancontact/Mister Cash, Visa Europe.

Members of Mercator Advisory Group's International Advisory Service have access to this report as well as the upcoming research for the year ahead, presentations, analyst access and other membership benefits.

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About Mercator Advisory Group
Mercator Advisory Group is the leading, independent research and advisory services firm exclusively focused on the payments and banking industries. We deliver pragmatic and timely research and advice designed to help our clients uncover the most lucrative opportunities to maximize revenue growth and contain costs. Our clients range from the world's largest payment issuers, acquirers, processors, merchants and associations to leading technology providers and investors. Mercator Advisory Group is also the publisher of the online payments and banking news and information portal PaymentsJournal.com.