Report: Alternative Payments to Grow 13% by 2015 

May 10, 2012

Globally, the alternative payments market accounts for $213 billion and is expected to grow 13 percent by 2015, according to a new report from payments processor, WorldPay. The U.K.-based company’s Optimizing your Alternative Payments looks at the relative importance of alternative payments in different markets and what merchants that want to sell online in those markets can expect.

WorldPay research found Germany to be the leading market for online alternative payments, with 66 percent of all e-commerce transactions (worth $58 billion) made using alternative methods. In India, Internet bank payments are the preferred method for paying online, the report says. Alipay and cash-on-delivery account for 80 percent of online payments in China, and the variety found from market to market goes on.

“Cultural payment preferences have always existed but until fairly recently, online purchasing options were dominated by global card schemes,” says Phil McGriskin, chief product officer for WorldPay. “With the advances in technology, a new generation of shoppers and developing online economies, alternative payments are growing in popularity. This presents an opportunity in the e-commerce space for merchants to gain a competitive advantage by offering customers the option to pay using their preferred payment type. Merchants need to identify where their target customers are located and offer the relevant payment options to cater to cultural preferences. This will ultimately drive revenue for merchants, especially in new and developing economies.”