Article

Online payments

Breaking barriers across Europe

Online payments play a critical role in the continued growth and development of the European economy. They harness the internet’s potential as a trade platform, stimulating competition and economic growth. The industry operates behind the scenes to allow trade to occur conveniently and efficiently over the internet.

Deloitte conducted a new study, commissioned by PayPal to assess the economic impact of online payments across the EU27 and found that the economic impact of online payment is estimated to contribute €125 billion to GDP in 2012.

Key findings

Through their catalyst role in enabling online retail, online payments:

  • Drive incremental sales by enabling lower prices, and increased access to a wider choice of goods
  • Support the expansion of cross border trade - one in five euros spent online already crosses national borders
  • Assist Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) to enter the market - a category of enterprise that are at the centre of the European economic growth area
  • Enable € 6.6 billion of economic impact through the direct, indirect and induced contribution from industry players
  • Have enabled a new world of digital trade, created efficiencies within the supply chain, supported investment in associated infrastructure such as information and communication technology and supported the creation of valuable price, transactional and customer behaviour data.
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