Payvision, global acquirer and data-driven omnichannel solutions provider, has published the findings of its fifth annual cross-border ecommerce research report, in collaboration with Juniper Research. The paper includes the results of a global survey of various industry players regarding the game-changers, the biggest challenges, the best practices for going cross-border, and much more. When compared to last year's findings, the report reveals a new and exciting context for global cross-border trade. The compound annual growth rate predicted for the next three years for cross-border ecommerce is now 17%, whereas it stands at just 12% for ecommerce overall. Also, over the past 12 months, merchants' attitudes towards cross-border ecommerce have become more positive, with 50% of respondents agreeing and 31% strongly agreeing that cross-border ecommerce is profitable.

If last year mobile commerce was considered to be the biggest cross-border ecommerce growth factor, this year the main driver merchants pointed out was the accelerated development of online marketplaces. 39% of the world's entire ecommerce market will be controlled by marketplaces by 2020. However, the research also discusses a few regulatory items introduced by the European Union that pose major challenges, specifically for international marketplaces. More precisely, the new Payment Services Directive (PSD2) to be introduced from January 2018, requires all merchants operating under a marketplace business model to acquire a payment institution license. The costs and efforts attributed to getting such license will have a massive impact on the business activity of merchants, and the most preferred solution is to partner with a compliant solution provider.

"Acting as a link between buyers and sellers, online marketplaces have created an incomparable level of security and usability for the involved parties that better support merchants in their international expansion," said Cheng Liem Li, CCO, Payvision Group. "However, these operators are currently confronted with regulatory changes predicted to severely impact their business. We are well-equipped to take away the regulatory complexity with SlicePay, our PSD2 compliant payment solution, and enable the marketplace to focus on growing their business across many regions and reaching new consumers."

Furthermore, the latest consumer technology trends such as VR/AR, data science, blockchain technology, artificial intelligence and machine learning together with the Internet of Things (IoT), enable merchants to reach their cross-border customers in a way that was never possible before. Consumers have higher expectations in terms of shopping experience, pushing merchants to constantly reinvent their ecommerce strategies.

Another paper highlight is the comparison between the latest business and geopolitics developments having a massive impact on global cross-border trade. While the UK and the US appear to be looking inward due to great political disruptions such as Brexit and the Trump presidency, China is taking the lead in globalization, heavily investing in the revolutionary One Belt, One Road (OBOR) trade route, which will connect 62% of the world's population.

The white paper Key Business Drivers and Opportunities in Cross-border Ecommerce 2017 brings together in-depth insights into all these issues and the most up-to-date ecommerce statistics in every major region worldwide, being the most comprehensive and largest report of its kind. Download your free copy here.