“Much of the media hype around the revolution in payments remains fixed on either consumers or individual payment segments with little context or real consideration to how these technologies will play out across the global payments value chain,” the study stated.

As payments technology progresses at an ever-increasing rate – with new providers, platforms and tools launching on “a near daily basis”— it is essential, the study said, that more attention be given to payments as a critical aspect of retail, an industry for whom maintaining the “status quo” is no longer an option.

Other key highlights of the study include:

• Up to 93% of retailers believe consumers want a broader choice of payment tools.
• Seventy-five percent of retailers see payments as a clear part of their business strategy.
• Forty-nine percent of retailers have seen their payment costs increase in the past 18 months, while 56% expect them to keep rising.
• Fifty percent of retailers cite customer experience as their key expected driver of ROI on any increase to their payments investment.

The four-part 2015 Global Payments Insight Series also found that today's payment players must collaborate to drive innovation and adapt as the payment ecosystem evolves. The first part of the study, released in April 2015, revealed that 90% of financial institutions would like to have closer relationships with retailers and business organizations because they see an urgent need to keep up with the new payment providers, platforms and tools that are emerging on a daily basis.