In a follow-up from its European Merchant Insight Report, Tribe Payments’ released its second phase report which finds that a quarter (24%) of merchants are concerned with the ability of acquirers to innovate. 

The report surveyed online and multi-channel merchants from European countries such as the UK, Spain, Germany, the Netherlands, and Lithuania, finding that three out of five merchants would switch acquirers if they offered greater flexibility pertaining to payment tech innovation. 

Up to 45% of merchants do state however that they will continue to select their current acquirer as they provide “good payment tools”, identifying a key focus on technology. 

Despite this, there is a growing sentiment and need for merchants to continue to evolve the customer journey. 36% of merchants believe their payment/checkout experience is not smooth enough. A further 58% feel the need to acquire more support in order to keep up with increased customer demands, with 56% revealing that changing anything about their payment process is too complex. 

This also relates back to the need for acquirer innovation, the report states: “To avoid churn and to reassure their customers, acquirers will need to ensure that they are demonstrating innovation if they wish to compete: almost half the merchants surveyed said they would switch providers if they were offered more tools and tech.”

Other key takeaways from the Tribe Payments report revealed: 

  • 98% of merchants offer card schemes to their customers; still the dominant payment method across Europe.
  • 66% of merchants support payments via Apple Pay, Google Pay, and Samsung Pay.
  • 11% of merchants support BNPL; yet to gain much traction amongst multichannel merchants despite its surging popularity. 

Tribe also highlighted current payment challenges, such as costs, trend visibility and the ability to adapt to customer demands, along with the ability to address cart abandonment issues as merchants have expressed concerns over checkout drop rates. 

Commenting on the report findings, Alex Reddish, Managing Director of Tribe Payments said: “The criteria for picking an acquirer has changed.”

“In the past it was often cost-driven but as consumer demands become more sophisticated, so do the expectations that merchants have for their acquirer. Acquiring is no longer a commoditised purchase. The desire for flexibility and innovation is not just a ‘nice to have’ but a necessity, driven by the growing range of alternative payment methods and changing consumer demands. 

“The good news is that acquirers have room to differentiate and meet these rising expectations.”


Read the full report here for more details