The continuing shift to e-commerce by consumers around the world has placed a premium for retailers on developing a robust e-commerce presence. An important aspect of doing this is to ensure that consumers are able to use whichever payment methods they prefer when transacting online. Payment gateways make this possible.

European consumers are increasingly turning to e-commerce for a greater share of their retail spending. As a result, European retailers, especially small businesses without large e-commerce resources, are looking for new ways to enable their websites to accept online payments. Many merchants realize that the growing number of cross-border transactions represent significant new sales opportunities within the region as well as globally from both domestic and international consumers. Payment gateway companies not only facilitate domestic transactions but also support popular international payment methods and a host of global currencies for cross-border transactions.

Mercator Advisory Group’s latest research note, Exploring the European Payment Gateway Opportunity, examines the impact of different commerce and consumer trends and issues across the region and describes how payment gateways have evolved beyond simply payment acceptance toward value-added services in order to meet merchants’ needs.