The Naples, Fla.-based payment service provider ACI Worldwide's2015 Global Payments Insight Survey revealed that retailers arefully aware of growing consumer expectations around payments,however, they are anxious about the security requirements a newpayments infrastructure will bring.

As a result, 54% of retailers are holding back on making newinvestments around payments due to security concerns.

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ACI Worldwide's 2015 Global Payments Insight Survey takes abroad look at the payments landscape around the globe, part two ofwhich includes the retail industry's perspective of the paymentsmarket globally.

The payments evolution has captured the attention of ACI Worldwideand the United Kingdom-based research firm Ovum, which collaboratedwith ACI on the study. The report's information was derived frommore than 1,100 executives who represent leading banks, billingorganizations and retailers from the Americas, Europe, the MiddleEast, Africa and the Asia Pacific.

ACI Worldwide approached the retail portion of the survey withthe consideration that when it comes to payments, the retailer'svoice is rarely heard or understood.

“Much of the media hype around the revolution in paymentsremains fixed on either consumers or individual payment segmentswith little context or real consideration to how these technologieswill play out across the global payments value chain,” the studystated.

As payments technology progresses at an ever-increasing rate –with new providers, platforms and tools launching on “a near dailybasis”— it is essential, the study said, that more attention begiven to payments as a critical aspect of retail, an industry forwhom 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 choiceof payment tools.
• Seventy-five percent of retailers see payments as a clear partof their business strategy.
• Forty-nine percent of retailers have seen their payment costsincrease in the past 18 months, while 56% expect them to keeprising.
• Fifty percent of retailers cite customer experience as theirkey expected driver of ROI on any increase to their paymentsinvestment.

The four-part 2015 Global Payments Insight Series also foundthat today's payment players must collaborate to drive innovationand adapt as the payment ecosystem evolves. The first part of thestudy, released in April 2015, revealed that 90% of financialinstitutions would like to have closer relationships with retailersand business organizations because they see an urgent need to keepup with the new payment providers, platforms and tools that areemerging on a daily basis.