 |
 |
 |
| |
|
Editorial
Every day our customers, like all merchants, ponder the same challenge: How can I build my business? Some look to new customer pools, others look to new markets, and some seek out new products and services. Many strive to do all three by expanding their product lines even as they extend their reach.
The Asian countries continue to be a growing economic force in e-commerce and they are attracting a lot of attention from Netgiro’s merchants. One exciting market is South Korea — and with 33 million online shoppers, it is definitely a country to watch. Netgiro has already taken the first step by developing a secure payment solution for this territory. This issue’s Spotlight article will give you an overview of the unique South Korean payments landscape; information you can deepen with our next webinar.
A popular expansion strategy is to build up a pan-European presence. However, the fragmented payment landscape in Europe challenges many merchants as they wonder which payment methods they need to offer in each country. Netgiro has its roots in Europe and we have been working with its numerous markets for more than 10 years. We also stay on top of new developments and watch new tendencies thoroughly. In our Research Update article we share some interesting statistics that may provide some answers to the question of which payments you should focus on in Europe.
Look forward to these and other exciting articles in this issue. Enjoy!
Regards,
Ingrid Lindström,
MD, Netgiro Systems
|
| |
|
|
South Korea
Over the past 40 years, the “Asian Tiger” has recorded the strongest economic development in Asia. It has also grown into one of the most mature e-commerce markets in the region. Business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce sales reached $15.4 billion (USD) in 2009, up 9.5% from 2008, and they continue to grow every year by about 10%.
THE RIGHT MIX: LOCAL CARDS, INTERNET BANK PAYMENTS AND MOBILE PAYMENTS
More so than in other markets, when you expand into South Korea you need a local approach — and this includes your payments offering. The South Korean e-payment landscape is dominated by local bank cards. These are acquired by local banks and use client-side security certificates as mandated by the Korean government. Usually cardholders authenticate directly with their banks using special online passwords — it is similar to 3DSecure, but this system is unique to South Korea.
While bankcards are popular, you must offer other payments if you want to succeed in this market. Real-time Internet Bank Payments are widely used. When paying this way, consumers use funds that are available in their checking or savings accounts to pay immediately as part of the checkout process.
|
 |
If your company offers digital products or targets a young demographic, you should consider adding mobile payments, an increasingly popular payment method in South Korea. There are close to 47 million mobile phone subscribers in Korea, covering over 94% of the population.
NETGIRO IS YOUR LOCAL PARTNER IN SOUTH KOREA
As part of the Digital River group, we have several years of experience in the South Korean e-commerce market. You’ll find a payments solution that supports all the local options mentioned above and more. By using our hosted Payment Page solution, you can easily connect to the major local payment options in South Korea, including local debit cards, all 19 banks for Internet bank transfers and all mobile phone operators for mobile payments.
If you are interested in knowing more about payments in South Korean, contact us or join our next Webinar on Thursday, June 3rd. Register today.
Source:
eMarketer, “South Korea Online”, January 2009
www.emarketer.com
|
 |
 |
Internet Bank Payments — a growing payment method in Europe
Internet Bank Payments — also known as Online Bank Transfers — are such a well-established payment method in many parts of Western Europe that they have become a must-have for merchants selling in some of the EU’s largest and most mature e-commerce markets.
One reason for their popularity among users: convenience . Consumers can pay for goods and services on the internet by transferring money from their online banking accounts quickly and with little effort. Most local schemes are supported by local banks and this gives the payers additional security and confidence that their credentials are protected.
This payment method also offers merchants attractive benefits. The payment is made in real-time . There is practically no fraud possible (once a payment is made it cannot be revoked by the customer). Many schemes give a payment guarantee. Finally, costs are often lower compared to credit card payments. It is a true win-win situation for merchants and consumers.
THE NETHERLANDS, GERMANY AND SWEDEN
In October 2009, Forrester published a survey that asked online shoppers in Europe which payment methods they had used to pay for products bought online during the last three months. The results showed very strong trends toward Internet Bank Payments in three countries. The Netherlands topped the list with 64% of the respondents having used online banking transfers, second was Germany with 42% and third was Sweden with 34%. At Netgiro we have found that Internet Bank Payments are also very popular in Austria and Finland, although these two countries not covered in the Forrester survey.
Netgiro recommends that merchants going into these five European countries add Internet Bank Payments to their payment mixes. In these markets, it’s a solid way to ensure merchants don’t miss a relevant consumer base and any resulting revenue.
SUCCESS STORY iDEAL
The high acceptance rate of Internet Bank Payments in the Netherlands corresponds well to the statistics published by iDEAL, the Dutch Internet Bank Payment scheme. Over the past four years the transaction volume processed through iDEAL has grown more than 600% to an impressive monthly volume of 5 million transactions. Since the Netherlands has an internet population of 14.6 million, this means that statistically every third internet user has paid with iDEAL during the last month.
A large number of our customers have implemented iDEAL as a payment method over the past few years. Our experience is that adding iDEAL to a payment portfolio creates a sales lift between 20% and 60% in the Netherlands (depending on industry, product sold, target group and payment alternatives).
Source:
Forrester, “Technographics® Survey Highlights: Online Payment Methods In Europe”, October 2009,
www.forrester.com
iDEAL, www.ideal.nl
|
New Channel Partner Program launched
Can payment services complement your portfolio? With Netgiro’s Partner Channel Program you can easily include online payments in your portfolio and offer it to your business customers — as a reseller or as a referral partner of Netgiro. The program targets companies who offer comprehensive solutions and who want to expand their services and create another unique selling proposition for their clients.
The program is designed for simplicity. Netgiro Channel Partner Program helps our partners reduce the complexity involved in accepting online payments for their customers. Because it is a turnkey solution, our partners’ customers can quickly start accepting payments online. Netgiro provides the technology, takes care of security and manages the banking partnerships.
INTRODUCING PAYMETRIC
Netgiro has partnered with Paymetric, an industry leader for integrated and secure electronic payment acceptance solutions for enterprise systems and ERP solutions. With the integration of the Netgiro payment solution, Paymetric can expand its payment and currency capabilities and give their global customers the ability to do business wherever they would like with one, easy worldwide solution. For additional information on Paymetric please visit www.paymetric.com
 |
 |
Product updates:
| |
> |
Netgiro’s Electronic Fund Transfer (EFT) solution extended to Eastern Europe.
Especially in the less mature e-commerce markets of Eastern Europe, traditional bank transfers are popular. For example, Netgiro’s customers offering both EFT and credit/debit cards in Poland are securing market share in excess of 47%. We have recently added 7 new countries to our EFT product to support your growth: Poland, Czech Republic, Hungary, Lithuania, Estonia, Latvia and Slovenia. In total we offer now EFT for over 20 markets. |
| |
> |
SEB Internet Bank Payment is now available for merchants without a Swedish entity.
Now non-Swedish merchants can add the SEB bank to their portfolio of payment methods and reach out to more consumers. SEB is one of the major Swedish banks for Internet Bank Payments, a payment method widely used in Scandinavia (see article above). |
|
| |
|
Welcome aboard: Isagenix®
Isagenix®, the World Leader in Nutritional Cleansing and Replenishing™, develops and manufactures systems to assist in weight management, long-term wellness and skincare. Isagenix products are distributed through an independent network of associates in the U.S., Canada, Puerto Rico, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Australia and New Zealand. The company’s vision is to impact world health and free people from physical and financial pain. Isagenix, established in 2002, is a privately owned company with headquarters in Chandler, Ariz., and is a member of the Direct Selling Association.
“Thanks to Netgiro, Isagenix now has a globally-placed payment gateway that can expand with our ever-growing international market portfolio. As our partner in our new global processing approach, we are pleased to have Netgiro supporting our online payment needs in Hong Kong, Taiwan and New Zealand with new service coming to Australia and Mexico.”
Scott Luther, Senior Vice President & CFO, Isagenix.
For more information please visit www.isagenix.com
|
| |
|
Upcoming events
|
| |
|
Follow Netgiro on Twitter!
Are you on Twitter? Netgiro is. Join our Twitter page to get regular news updates, insights into the payments and e-commerce industries, as well as information about our upcoming events and product launches.
Follow us on http://twitter.com/netgiro
 |
| |
|
Feedback
Let us know what you think of our newsletter. Did you find the information useful? Would you prefer more or less detail? Are there other topics that you would like us to cover in the future? Your feedback is much appreciated and is very valuable to us. Talk to your Netgiro account manager or e-mail us at info-(_sm3Remove)-_-(_a)-_netgiro-(d_)-_com . Thank You.
|
 |