Payments Powering Platforms TRACKER™ SEPTEMBER 2017 How Expedia’s Exploring THE PAYMENTS W RLD How payments are powering 12 percent of Canadian smartphone Find the top providers in the world’s largest online owners have used their mobile our Tracker Scorecard travel platform devices to make a payment – p. 15 – p. 5 (Feature Story) – p. 9 (News and Trends) powered by Table of Contents PAGE What’s Inside A look at the quickly evolving payment platforms ecosystem and how 03 consumers around the world are reacting to mobile payments. PAGE Feature Story Wilson Wang, director of global checkout and payment products for online travel platform Expedia, on how the company is pushing payments 05 to push travel platforms forward PAGE News and Trends 09 The latest headlines from around the Payments Powering Platforms space. PAGE Methodology | Top Ten Rankings Best of the bunch 13 Which companies are on top and how they got there. PAGE Scorecard The results are in 15 See who the top providers are. PAGE About 53 Information on PYMNTS.com and WePay. Acknowledgment Sponsorship for the Payments Powering Platforms Tracker™ was provided by WePay. WePay has no editorial influence over the Tracker’s content. In addition, the methodology for Tracker supplier rankings was developed exclusively by the PYMNTS.com research and analytics team. The methodology, scoring and rankings are done exclusively by this team and without input or influence from the sponsoring organization. Payments Powering Platforms Tracker™ © 2017 PYMNTS.com all rights reserved September 2017 | 2 What’s Inside It’s no secret mobile wallets haven’t quite caught on among American consumers. PYMNTS research indicates less than 10 percent of American consumers have used a mobile wallet as recently as June of this year. That’s even though mobile wallet platforms have been available and accepted for more than three years. The lack of adoption is typically attributed to security In Canada, however, the story is more like its North concerns and the fact that American consumers are American neighbor. According to recent research from happy and comfortable using methods like credit or Visa, just 12 percent of smartphone users have made debit cards. But, just because Americans don’t love a mobile wallet transaction, despite a recent uptick in mobile wallets (yet?) doesn’t mean they aren’t catching general smartphone usage and ownership. on elsewhere. Check out the rest of the headlines from around the Over the past month, research and debuts from payments platforms space in the Tracker’s News and companies are proving there is an appetite for mobile Trends section (p. 9). wallets — just maybe not in the U.S. How Expedia’s exploring the payments world Here’s a quick snapshot of some recent notable Being able to accept cross-border transactions is news from around the Payments Powering important for many businesses in the modern era of Platforms space: online shopping and global shipping.But according to In China, mobile payments are so popular that Alipay, the Wilson Wang, director of global checkout and payment country’s most popular mobile wallet option, is looking to products for online travel platform Expedia, it’s even spread its wings. Alipay’s parent company, Ant Financial, more crucial for a company that specializes in global recently announced the payment method is now travel. available to the more than 2 million Chinese tourists who In a recent interview as part of this month’s Payments visit Malaysia each year. Merchants in Malaysia began Powering Platforms Tracker, Wang told PYMNTS that the accepting Alipay in April 2017, and it is currently being company has learned first-hand how important flexible accepted at more than 5,000 merchants in the country — payment options are to their customers – and how including all 242 Starbucks locations. important they are to the company’s business model. Mobile wallets are experiencing a popularity surge in England. Mobile wallet transaction volume climbed The September Payments Powering Platform by 336 percent in just the first six months of this year Tracker updates compared to usage rates at the end of 2016. Mobile This month’s edition of the Tracker features profiles and spending is expected to continue to rise in the coming scores for 72 providers, including six new additions: years, particularly at supermarkets and grocery stores, Amaryllis Payment Solutions, Bambora, E-xact which already account for 55 percent of mobile payment Transactions, G2A PAY, PlugnPay Transactions and usage. TrustCommerce. Payments Powering Platforms Tracker™ © 2017 PYMNTS.com all rights reserved September 2017 | 3 What’s Inside Five Fast Facts of point-of-sale transactions will be 53% contactless within five years Increase in mobile payments usage in 336% the U.K. in the first six months of 2017 5 Projected increase in the global 35.55% mobile payment market through 2021 Projected expansion of the contactless payment transaction 55.5% platform market through 2025 $1.35 Projected volume spent via mobile TRILLION wallets around the globe in 2017 Payments Powering Platforms Tracker™ © 2017 PYMNTS.com all rights reserved September 2017 | 4 How Expedia’s Exploring THE PAYMENTS W RLD Payments Powering Platforms Tracker™ © 2017 PYMNTS.com all rights reserved September 2017 | 5 FEATURE STORY “We know that offering those flexible solutions and providing prices in different currencies is hugely important for our customers who are traveling from all over. WILSON WANG director of global checkout and payment products of Expedia hen it comes to booking online travel, one While having the capability to accept cross-border can start out with a broad or narrow search transactions is important for many businesses in the depending on flexibility. It’s all about options, modern era of online shopping and global shipping, Wand — from choosing a preferred airline, travel time, Wilson Wang, director of global checkout and payment number of stops and hotel chain to deciding between products for online travel platform Expedia, said it’s even more legroom or no legroom — travelers have lots of more crucial for a company specializing in global travel. choices. In a recent interview, Wang told PYMNTS the company has learned first-hand how important native currencies Once the itinerary is chosen, though, the payment are to customers — and how critical those currencies are options aren’t necessarily as plentiful. And, depending to the company’s business model. from where in the world one is booking and in what originating currency, frictions can lead to the traveling “We really want to be able to offer a flexible solution, equivalent of an aborted takeoff. because we want to work with travelers around the globe, however they want to pay for travel,” Wang According to research from the PYMNTS.com X-Border said. “We know that offering those flexible solutions Payments Optimization Index, most of the top 10 and providing prices in different currencies is hugely percent of international merchants consistently offer important for our customers who are traveling from all pricing and payments in at least six different currencies. over.” That’s because other study findings indicate enabling consumers to pay in their native currency is one of the But, as it turns out, it isn’t just currencies. Wang said to most important features in motivating cross-border find success — and grow from an internet startup to the purchases, with one-third of surveyed consumers saying world’s largest online travel company processing more the option makes them more likely to shop across than $72 billion in travel payments as of 2016 — the borders. platform had to accept payments however Expedia’s Payments Powering Platforms Tracker™ © 2017 PYMNTS.com all rights reserved September 2017 | 6 Feature Story consumers preferred to make them. That made different currencies, deferred payments and new payment methods like buy buttons equally important. Under the Hood ...those customers want WILSON WANG OF EXPEDIA ON THE IMPACT OF TECHNOLOGY a more immediate experience, The internet has transformed the travel industry, but they often don’t want to effectively turning everyone into his or her own “ travel agent. In a recent interview with PYMNTS, make a payment on a mobile Wilson Wang, director of global checkout and payment products for online travel platform device due to security Expedia, described how the company has invested in technology to help power its growth. concerns. “Technology has been a huge asset for adapting to the travel industry as well as the consumer payment industry. We’ve made lots of changes to the platform over the years because we’ve invested in a wide range Letting customers pay how they want of technologies, from predictive modeling to really any As part of Expedia’s efforts to offer an array of payment” technology [that] can enable a better travel buying options, the company introduced the Expedia Traveler experience. Preference program in 2012, allowing guests to pay for And, one of the things that technology really does trips at the end of their stays rather than at the time of is help us increase our efficiency in terms of serving booking, customers and providing our customers with what Wang said the program was designed to give customers they’re looking for, at scale. We’re the largest travel company in the world, and that gives us better travel more options for how to fund their travels. While many data than anyone in the industry — but it also means customers preferred to pre-pay for a trip, others wanted we have to be able to do things on a big scale. So, to be able to pay after the experience was over. while we have the data, we still have to … work really The program was popular among consumers, Wang hard to build the technology and the products that our said, and the company has since expanded it, offering customers come to expect from Expedia.