PXP has announced the findings of an exclusive survey of UK and US merchants’ appetite for digital payments transformation. The research reveals that 64 per cent of merchants now view payment technology as a strategic growth driver rather than just an operational necessity.
With 2025 set to usher in accelerating digital transformation across the entire payment and merchant landscapes, PXP, in collaboration with leading polling firm Censuswide, conducted a survey of 250 payment decision-makers at merchants and retailers across the UK and US in January 2025.
As the business payment landscape undergoes its most significant evolution in decades, the PXP survey gauged merchants’ appetite for tech-led transformation across multiple back-end operational and front-end customer-facing areas. As digital acceleration continues to reshape customer expectations and business efficiencies, the survey shows that payment technology has evolved from a back-office utility to an all-encompassing strategic differentiator across virtually all operational aspects.
Payment technology extends beyond enhancing back-end operational flows like reporting, data analysis, and business intelligence. It is also reshaping front-end customer interactions to increase merchants’ appeal in an increasingly competitive marketplace.
Key Survey Findings:
- 36 per cent of businesses rank enhanced security and fraud prevention as their top priority when selecting payment partners.
- 28 pe cent cite system and payment platform reliability during high-traffic and peak sales periods as a make-or-break factor for their operations
- 17 per cent prioritise growth and scalability in their payment technology decisions, highlighting how payment infrastructure has become fundamental to business expansion strategies.
- 51 per cent of merchants are actively leveraging payment systems to create new revenue streams, monetise payment capabilities, and increase their appeal to customers.
- 49 per cent of companies are exploring new payment methods like digital wallets, account-to-account payments, and BNPL to drive market penetration, particularly in cross-border commerce.
PXP’s research also examined the differing payment technology needs of merchants in the online-only eCommerce, bricks-and-mortar, and omnichannel segments, with key findings including:
- 34 per cent are expanding their payment method offerings, while 20 per cent are actively investing in international payment capabilities.
- 37 per cent of traditional bricks-and-mortar businesses cite system stability as a critical factor, while 30 per cent are prioritizing having one unified payment platform across all channels.
- 35 per cent of omnichannel/hybrid businesses a focus on protecting customer transactions across all channels, and 29 per cent prioritise reliability and resilience during peak transaction periods when selecting a payment provider.
These distinctions between different merchant segments highlight how payment technology strategies must be tailored to specific business models while maintaining а focus on core objectives such as data integration, reliability, and customer experience.
Kamran Hedjri, Group CEO of PXP, comments: “Our findings paint a clear picture: payment technology has moved from the back office to the boardroom, from a mere business function to a key strategic consideration in business growth planning. This shift represents a remarkable evolution in thinking, and payment providers must align with it to help merchants meet their customers’ expectations wherever they are. While organisations may differ in size, sector, and purpose, our survey reveals that what merchants need most from payment technology are security and trust, operational resilience, and scalability.”
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