ELV - Competitor Profile - Research and Markets

ELV is an electronic direct debit system in Germany. Launched in the 1980s by a group of merchants, it accounted for 5.8% of the country’s non-cash transaction volume in 2019.

It is a popular payment solution in Germany for both in-store and online payments and is an alternative payment option for customers who do not like using credit cards online to pay for products or services.

In-store ELV payments are carried out at POS terminals using debit cards. The customer’s bank card details (including card number and expiry date) are captured by the POS terminal, and a collection authorization mandate is generated. This mandate needs to be signed by the customer, allowing merchants to collect funds from the customer’s bank account in the form of a direct debit. The system avoids the intervention of any card scheme networks for payment processing, thus allowing merchants to accept payments at lower costs.

ELV can also be used as a payment option by e-retailers. Payments are not authorized by issuing banks and merchants have to bear the risk of defaults.

ELV payments are accepted by most banks in Germany, as well as by a number of payment service providers including Worldpay from FIS, Adyen, Computop, ALTAPAY, Novalnet, Dalenys, emerchantpay, and Nuvei.

The report provides information and insights into ELV including:

Detailed insight into its business
Comprehensive coverage of its products and services
Comparative assessment with key alternative payment solutions
Information on its performance highlights

Scope

ELV is one of the most popular retail payment instruments in Germany launched in 1980s.
To adopt a new framework promoting standardization and defining interfaces, the ELV Forum was formed in 2009.
To align with the Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) framework, the traditional ELV direct debit was migrated to SEPA ELV Direct Debit in January 2016.
ELV Forum adopted the latest EuroELV version 4.3 specification in February 2021, which support ELV payments via contactless cards.

Reasons to Buy

Gain insights into ELV's business operations and key events.
Gain insights into its product portfolio.
Assess the competitive dynamics in the alternative payments industry by comparing its performance against competitors.