Digital payments: European companies lag behind.

The survey found that only 28 percent of European companies offer digital payments at all – although by 2023 more than 75 percent of the population will be using digital payment methods, according to a forecast by data service provider Statista. “Companies that don’t adapt to this development are putting their competitiveness at risk. Long-established large companies in particular need to offer such functions, above all e-wallet solutions,” says Klaus Engberding, Chairman of the Board of Directors of EOS Group, “but many companies are lagging behind.”

In this context there are significant regional differences. In Western Europe, a third of all companies (32 percent) offer digital payment – an increase of six percent on the previous year. In Eastern European countries it is only around a quarter (26 percent) – compared with 30 percent in the previous year.

The options for paying with e-wallets are particularly scarce. For private customers and consumers, only 6 percent of European companies offer such a function, while only 3 percent offer it to business customers. The most common forms of payment are online transfers via third-party providers, offered by 20 percent of companies to private customers and by 24 percent to business customers. Mobile payment functions have increased very slightly, from 5 to 7 percent. Here too, there is a significant East-West divide. In the Western European countries there was an increase from 6 to 10 percent, whereas in the East it stayed at 5 percent. At just 1 percent, cryptocurrencies hardly get a mention.

“PSD2 should induce companies to extend their digital payment options,” says Engberding. “The final phase of the regulations will come into force. This obliges them to review their existing arrangements in any case.” For example, every payment service provider needs a license from Bafin, the German Federal Financial Supervisory Authority, or equivalent agency in another EU country. What is known as “strong customer authentication” will be mandatory. For online and card payments, customers have to confirm two security features such as a PIN and a TAN (transaction number), whereby the TAN may be produced only in digital form, as paper TAN lists are no longer allowed. Companies that do not offer in that case PSD2-compliant payments risk penalties and fines.

“Confusion among customers in the next few months is inevitable. Familiar payment processes and banking apps will suddenly no longer work like they used to,” says Engberding. “Cyber security is not always convenient – but there is no alternative. If we want the e-commerce innovations that will be possible with PSD2 then there is no way around it.”