Innovation and Disruption in U.S. Merchant Payments

The U.S. merchant payments landscape is undergoing a period of rapid, technology-driven change. Mobile, online and social technologies are revolution- izing consumer access to information and sparking demand for new services that can support multichannel commerce, big data analytics, enhanced loyalty pro- grams and targeted advertising. Consumers use the new tools to move dynami- cally between computer, mobile device and in-store experiences while shopping. For merchants, these cross-channel “journeys” create opportunities to integrate business-to-consumer (B2C) sales channels and to leverage generated data to understand consumer behavior. To capitalize on this opportunity, merchants need payments solutions that integrate adjacent business services and enable new functionalities that enhance loyalty programs and advertising performance. This study examines some of these changes and their impact.