Worldline launches dedicated payment solution for online marketplaces thus enhancing the biggest evolution of e-commerce

Online marketplaces are clearly in demand and their popularity is on the rise, according to Forrester[1] research, 40% of all online purchases are made via marketplaces. To effectively position themselves as an indispensable interface between a large and growing consumer base and a diverse range of merchant partners, marketplace providers have to ensure a seamless online shopping and transaction experience.

Online marketplaces are developing at an incredible pace and the reason for their popularity is clear. As e-commerce portals, they provide participating merchants with the highest levels of online visibility for their products coupled with the end-to-end administration of their sales transactions which enjoy greatest levels of consumer acceptance. Online marketplace sales already make up 40 per cent of the total e-commerce market, with research company Forrester predicting the segment to grow to 66 per cent of business-to-consumer online retail spending by 2022.

Dedicated payment solution for online marketplaces

The key to commercial success lies in the back-office of a marketplace, where efficiency is the main driver. Ranging from offering a choice of secure payment options to customers through to managing a variety of payment and commission models with merchants, all processes must be integrated, automated and compliant with the payment industry’s regulations.

Worldline is launching a dedicated payment solution to cater for the very particular needs of marketplaces, ranging from classic marketplaces for physical products, franchise systems, travel agents, self-check-out solutions through to delivery services. For those marketplaces with an international footprint and cosmopolitan customer base, a huge variety of currencies can be processed, and Dynamic Currency Conversion (DCC) is available too. DCC has already gained acceptance in e-Commerce with an average conversion rate of 50 per cent.

Compliant with financial regulatory standards

Within an online marketplace there are a great number of stakeholders involved, including the marketplace operator and a variety of sellers and buyers. This multi-party environment is a complex ecosystem where financial regulations and security standards such as PSD2 (European Payment Service Directive) have to be adhered to.

When using the Worldline solution, there is no need for operators of a marketplace to have their own payment institution license. Worldline, as a regulated pan-European company, fulfils all the requirements of a licensed payment service provider and is therefore well positioned to perform activities like managing the splitting of payments amongst the authorised sellers as well as the related commission allocation. This ensures compliance with payment transaction regulations, anti-money laundering rules and know-your-customer (KYC) obligations.

Easy integration is key

The online payment solution by Worldline can be integrated easily into a marketplace platform and is capable of managing ‘mixed’ shopping baskets consisting of products from various sellers and for different delivery dates.  In addition, all automated payments including variable commission models are processed via a unified API (Application Programming Interface). From a contractual perspective, only the marketplace operator holds a relationship with Worldline.

The technology behind the payment transactions is tokenization, whereby sensitive data such as credit card numbers are encrypted and replaced by substitute numbers called ‘tokens’. This provides a solution that is superior both in terms of security and speed.

The first online marketplace customers have already been on-boarded in Austria, Cyprus and Switzerland, where SIX Payment Services has been part of Worldline since the end of 2018.

Roger Niederer, Chief Market Officer Merchant Services at Worldline: “Choosing the right payment solution is a critical success factor for an online marketplace. As a European payment specialist with a proven track record, we can ensure a secure and smooth payment process for all marketplaces resulting in a highly positive buying and selling experience for all parties.”

Sylvain Favre, Co-founder or La Petite Épicerie, a self-checkout solution for farmers market stalls in Switzerland: “Our aim is to ensure a smooth distribution of all payments for each of our participating sellers. Once live, the solution by Worldline will allow us to focus on our core business and ensure a seamless customer experience for consumers.”

Martin Krieger, owner of Crowd X Marketing, an Austrian online shopping tool that enhances the shopping experience with recommendations from friends: ”We are happy that by cooperating with Worldline we can offer our customers a modern and convenient payment solution that meets the patterns and demands of modern day life with the added benefit that our customers can browse, shop and pay with confidence.”

About Worldline

Worldline [Euronext: WLN] is the European leader in the payment and transactional services industry. With innovation at the core of its DNA, Worldline’s core offerings include pan-European and domestic Commercial Acquiring for physical or online businesses, secured payment transaction processing for banks and financial institutions, as well as transactional services in e-Ticketing and for local and central public agencies. Thanks to a presence in 30+ countries, Worldline is the payment partner of choice for merchants, banks, public transport operators, government agencies and industrial companies, delivering cutting-edge digital services. Worldline’s activities are organized around three axes: Merchant Services, Financial Services including equensWorldline and Mobility & e-Transactional Services. Worldline employs circa 11,000 people worldwide, with estimated pro forma revenue of circa 2.3 billion euros on a yearly basis. Worldline is an Atos company. worldline.com

Press contact

Worldline
Susanne Stöger
+43 171 7016524
susanne.stoeger@six-group.com

[1] Forrester Research: “Retailers Must Seize the Marketplace Opportunity”