Europe: mPOS usage by SMEs to increase in 2014 - report

According to a study into the acceptance of new payment solutions published by Visa Europe, over a quarter of SMEs surveyed expressed an interest in taking up an mPOS solution within the next 6 months.

mPOS ease of use is cited as its unique selling point by the majority of small businesses (74% of those in France, 73% in Germany, 63% in the UK and Poland respectively and 59% in Italy).

Additionally, security was noted as the most important feature, closely followed by industry compliance and the ability to accept all major cards.

The report also revealed that almost half of those surveyed in Germany thought that mPOS would increase their sales as customers may spend more and are not limited by the amount of cash they have available at the time of purchase and in Italy, 45% of small business surveyed found that mPOS would improve their cash flow as it would enable them to get paid quicker.

The research, which questioned 2,000 small businesses in the UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland, shows that many small businesses are changing their attitudes towards card acceptance.

25 mPOS solutions are currently live across Europe and several key banks have started mPOS pilots with 30 implementation projects set to launch a new Chip and PIN compliant program by autumn this year.

The research was conducted in five European markets, including UK, France, Germany, Italy and Poland between the months of September and December 2013.