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WEX Survey Looks at Senior Finance Executives' Take on Payments Security
[November 13, 2018]

WEX Survey Looks at Senior Finance Executives' Take on Payments Security


WEX (NYSE: WEX), a leading provider of corporate payment solutions, unveiled Part II results of its annual Payments Pulse (News - Alert) study, distilled from a third-party survey fielded to gauge views of the payments landscape from chief financial officers and senior financial executives worldwide.

The survey of more than 1,000 CFOs and senior financial executives from the U.S., Europe and Asia/Oceana revealed that for this group, security is paramount in payments solutions or platforms. Security-both of information and settlements-is raised by executives as a concern in multiple aspects of payments processing. In fact, according to those surveyed, security of transactions is the single most important attribute of payments.

More than half of American executives-53 percent-and almost half of the European executives we polled-49 percent-"strongly agree" that they are very concerned about information security relating to payments. In stark contrast, 26 percent of the Asian executives surveyed answered that they "strongly agree." Still, between 58 percent and 68 percent of respondents from all regions rated security of transactions as the most important attribute of a payments solution.

The data uncovered additional key trends, including:

  • CFOs value security enhancements and speed: Executives in all regions anticipate that new technology will impact their business when it comes to security: namely, more secure payments (62 percent) and faster and more secure cross-border payments (57 percent).
  • Information security and payments fraud are top of mind. In the U.S. the concern about information security (52 percent "strongly agree" that they are very concerned) is aligned with the incidence of payments fraud or misuse-52 percent have experienced one or the other in the past six months. In Asia, just 26 percent of the executives we questioned express the same level of concern-wich makes senses, since only 24 percent have experienced fraud or misuse in the same time period.
  • Financial services executives have high expectations of payments providers when it comes to security. Across the board, there is agreement that security of transactions is the most important attribute of payments for their business, with 62 percent ranking it "very important." When selecting a payments provider, the Asia/Oceania executives surveyed strongly valued security of a provider's systems and transactions (though it was second to cost/fee structure in impacting their choices).
  • The cloud is now, and CFOs think blockchain may be the future. Almost all of those surveyed-92 percent-indicate that their business is currently using cloud-based payments platforms. A full 84 percent trust cloud-based systems more than locally hosted ERP/AP systems to keep account payables secure. Surveyed executives are very optimistic regarding the effect of blockchain on their own businesses, expecting the technology to pave the way for more-secure payments



"The insights we glean from our Payments Pulse surveys allow WEX to be at the forefront of what's important to financial executives regarding the payments ecosystem," said Jay Dearborn, President of Corporate Payments, WEX. "The overwhelming concern for payments security and integrity aligns with WEX's emphasis on providing clients with worry-free and secure payments solutions. When businesses work with us, they have peace of mind in knowing that their transactions are being processed by one of the most-trusted payments solutions providers in the world."

Methodology
WEX commissioned Zogby Analytics to conduct an online survey of CFOs and senior financial executives in the U.S., Europe and Asia/Oceania. From April 13 to April 24, 2018, 501 CFOs and senior financial executives from the U.S., 206 from Singapore, Hong Kong and Australia (combined), and 207 from France, Germany, Italy, Spain and the U.K. (combined) completed the survey. Based on a confidence interval of 95%, the margin of error (MOE) is ± 4.4 percentage points for the U.S., ± 6.8 percentage points for Europe and ± 6.8 percentage points for Asia/Oceana.


About WEX
Powered by the belief that complex payment systems can be made simple, WEX Inc. (NYSE: WEX) is a leading provider of payment processing and business solutions across a wide spectrum of sectors, including fleet, travel and healthcare. WEX operates in more than 10 countries and in more than 20 currencies through more than 3,500 associates around the world. WEX fleet cards offer 11.5 million vehicles exceptional payment security and control; purchase volume in its travel and corporate solutions grew to $30.3 billion in 2017; and the WEX Health financial technology platform helps 300,000 employers and more than 25 million consumers better manage healthcare expenses. For more information, visit www.wexinc.com.

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 multiphased 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.


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