[June 22, 2017] |
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WEX Survey Reveals CFOs' Thoughts on Future of Payments
WEX
Inc. (NYSE: WEX), a leading provider of corporate payment solutions,
unveiled the results of a third-party survey conducted to gauge public
and private company chief financial officers' views of the payments
processing landscape.
The survey of 500 CFOs around the United States found that nearly
three-quarters of respondents (72 percent) already have an electronic
payables initiative underway, while 26 percent are considering one-with
93 percent of those respondents indicating that they are working to
launch an electronic payables system in the next six to 12 months.
Further, more than half of respondents (57 percent) are currently
outsourcing platforms or technology to perform accounts payable
functions.
The data uncovered five key trends:
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It's not the startups; payment processing companies are most likely
to disrupt the industry. When asked which group within the
marketplace is most likely to disrupt the payments industry in the
next 12 to 24 months, 39 percent of respondents answered payments
processing companies, 32 percent believe it will be big banks, and
only 16 percent believe it will be FinTech startups.
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Mobile reigns supreme of all the emerging technologies. While
respondents overwhelming agree that all new technologies will be
important to their business in the next two years, the majority are
most concerned with mobile payments and mobile capabilities to manage
and approve payments (55 percent), with blockchain a close second (54
percent), followed by cloud payments (48 percent) and data mining (46
percent). Despite the buzz around virtual reality and machine-based
learning, these two technologies ranked at the bottom of the list.
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CFOs are confident they understand blockchain. Nearly
two-thirds of respondents (61 percent) are extremely confident in
their understanding of the function and capabilities of blockchain or
distributed ledger technologies, with 35 percent citing they are
somewhat confident Half of CFOs expect blockchain to change how their
account payables operate in the next six to 12 months, and another 44
percent believe it will allow their business to scale more quickly and
internationally.
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Ability to transact in international currencies is increasingly
important. Nearly two-thirds of CFOs (64 percent) believe it's
very important to their business to be able to transact in
international currencies. Notably, companies with annual revenue more
than $51 million put extra weight on foreign currency transactions,
with more than three-quarters (76 percent) citing this feature as
"very important."
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Customer experience is key when it comes to selecting a payments
platform. When asked to check all that apply, 71 percent of
respondents cited overall user experience as the most influential
criteria for selecting a payments platform, 60 percent cited speed of
reconciliation capabilities, and 60 percent also selected reporting
analytics.
"It's interesting to see how top decision makers are thinking about
payments in the near future," said Jim Pratt, SVP and GM Virtual
Payments Global, WEX Inc. "The fact that so many CFOs believe the
payments processing companies will be the true disruptors is a strong
vote of confidence and motivation to continue our research and product
development. At WEX, we strive to constantly innovate while providing
top-notch customer service, new analytics capabilities and unparalleled
payments security."
When it comes to identifying attributes of a payments provider, 69
percent said customer service was very important, followed by 67 percent
citing security and 58 percent seeking knowledgeable IT support.
Methodology In May 2017, WEX commissioned Zogby Analytics to
conduct an online survey of 500 chief financial officers nationwide.
Based on a confidence interval of 95 percent, the margin of error is +/-
4.4 percentage points.
About WEX Inc. WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) is a leading provider of
corporate payment solutions. From its roots in fleet card payments
beginning in 1983, WEX has expanded the scope of its business into a
multi-channel provider of corporate payment solutions representing 10
million vehicles and offering exceptional payment security and control
across a wide spectrum of business sectors. WEX serves a global set of
customers and partners through its operations around the world, with
offices in the United States, Australia, New Zealand, Brazil, the United
Kingdom, Italy, France, Germany, Norway and Singapore. WEX and its
subsidiaries employ more than 2,700 associates. The company has been
publicly traded since 2005, and is listed on the New York Stock Exchange
under the ticker symbol "WEX." For more information, visit www.wexinc.com
and follow WEX on Twitter (News - Alert) at @WEXIncNews.
About Zogby Analytics Zogby Analytics is respected
nationally and internationally for its opinion research capabilities.
Since 1984, Zogby has empowered clients with powerful information and
knowledge critical for making informed strategic decisions. The firm
conducts multi-phased opinion research engagements for banking and
financial services institutions, insurance companies, hospitals and
medical centers, retailers and developers, religious institutions,
cultural organizations, colleges and universities, IT companies and
Federal agencies. Zogby's dedication and commitment to excellence and
accuracy are reflected in its state-of-the-art opinion research
capabilities and objective analysis and consultation.
View source version on businesswire.com: http://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20170622005108/en/
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