Alternative Payments Going Strong

Posted by Mark Brousseau

Online buyers turn to alternative payments

An interesting item from the Pacific Business News:

A growing number of online shoppers are turning away from traditional credit and debit cards and moving toward cash-based alternative payment options, according to a retail forecast survey released this week by Javelin Strategy & Research.

Alternative payments — such as PayPal, Google Checkout, Nacha SVP and Revolution Money — will become preferred choices for online consumers and will continue to grow over the next five years, increasing to one-third of online retail transaction volume by 2013, the survey said.

This year, alternative payments will reach $148 billion and rise to $268 billion by 2013.

The growth will be strong for companies that build brand awareness, said the survey.

As the trend grows, the survey urges banks and traditional card brands to expand their own prepaid card products and partner with alternative providers.

This holiday season, alternative payments will comprise $7.8 billion in purchases compared to $35 billion in traditional online payment methods.

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