Electronic Transactions Association Releases Payments Industry Economic Report

WASHINGTON, May 1, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- The Electronic Transactions Association (ETA), the trade association of the global electronic payments industry, today released its U.S. Economic Indicators Report for the first quarter of 2013 during the 2013 ETA Annual Meeting & Expo in New Orleans. Published quarterly with analysis from The Strawhecker Group (TSG) for the benefit of ETA member companies, the 16^th edition of the report shows strong industry performance during the first quarter, maintaining its outperformance of the S&P 500 even as the U.S. economy continues to recover from the recession.

The report tracks the performance of a $100 investment in 2007 in an index of select industry companies that represent the "TSG Payments Index" (TSGPX). In the first quarter of 2013, the TSGPX grew 14.2 percent from the first quarter of 2007.  That is compared to just 1.6 percent growth in the same period in the S&P 500 index, one of the most commonly used benchmarks for the U.S. stock market.

"ETA's U.S. Economic Indicators Report for the first quarter shows continued strong performance in the electronic payments industry compared with the rest of the economy," said Jason Oxman, chief executive officer of ETA. "As we continue to recover from the recession, industry trends are looking up, and this report gives ETA members a deeper understanding of where things stand, both in the industry and the overall economy, so they can better assess business opportunities in the marketplace."

Using proprietary data and analysis from TSG, ETA's Economic Indicators Report surveys the state of the electronics payments industry alongside key macro- and microeconomic data points. Armed with this information, ETA members can judge how the payments industry performs in various economic climates and the relationship it has between major economic indicators. The data in the report can also help ETA members prepare for the future economic trends that could impact their businesses.

Included in this report, TSG has created a new metric, the Gross Value Profit Index (GPVI), to show the value of merchant portfolio revenue streams using data from the 1.6 million merchants in its MPPS database, representing 20 percent of the U.S. brick and mortar merchant market. According to the report, the GVPI shows a growth rate (CAGR) of 21 percent beginning in the fourth quarter of 2010. This is compared to 26 percent for the TSGPX and only 6 percent for the S&P 500. The value of the collective representative portfolio has increased 49 percent since the fourth quarter of 2010. Of that increase, 19 percent is due to the addition of high performing merchants to the portfolio in the last 12 months.

The report also includes a review of 80 industry enterprise and merchant portfolio transactions from 2000 – 2012. The review shows that net revenue multiple averages rebounded in 2012, after dropping following the recession.

This is the 16^th edition of the ETA U.S. Economic Indicators Report, which is only available in full to ETA members. Companies interested in becoming members of ETA should contact Del Baker, ETA's membership director, at [email protected] or 202-828-2635.  

About ETA
The Electronic Transactions Association is an international trade association representing more than 500 companies that offer electronic transaction processing products and services. ETA's mission is to advance the payments industry profession by providing leadership through education, advocacy and the exchange of information.

SOURCE Electronic Transactions Association