Over the past five years, IDC has witnessed a monumental shift as companies adapt their business models and strategies to meet the requirements of the digital economy. From traditional ecommerce to subscription software-as-a-service (SaaS) businesses to multisided marketplaces, digital commerce is enabling businesses to rethink what they sell, how they sell, and where they sell. Businesses are also rethinking how they transact with other businesses, with consumers across borders, and with different currencies and payment methods.
The result is a dramatic shift in how companies engage online, meet increasingly demanding consumer and business expectations, and grow in a complex regulatory landscape by market. Fickle consumer and business buyers have come to expect an intuitive and instantaneous checkout process with support for multiple payment options. However, aging financial infrastructure and complex interdependencies between numerous parties have historically made it difficult and expensive to accept payments online seamlessly and across markets and currencies. In the early days of the internet, businesses wishing to succeed in the digital commerce landscape had no choice but to make large investments in software, services, and employees to build and support homegrown online payments systems.
