Sage Pay Enters German Market Focused on Driving E-Commerce Growth for Small and Medium Sized Businesses

LONDON, October 18, 2012 /PRNewswire/ --

German businesses to benefit from easy integration and transparent pricing

Opportunity for UK businesses to expand their customer base into Europe

Sage Pay, the UK's leading payment provider has today launched in the German market providing online payment solutions for small to medium sized (SMB) online businesses.

Sage Pay currently has over 45,000 customers in the UK & Ireland and the move into the German market underscores Sage Pay's strategy to support SMB growth across Europe.  "Online payments in Germany are not always easy to understand and available solutions are often not flexible or scalable to support the growth of small and medium sized businesses.  With Sage Pay we intend to close this gap" explains Simon Black, CEO Sage Pay. "We offer online merchants comprehensive, secure payment solutions with transparent pricing and extraordinary 24 hour customer service and advice."

Since Sage Pay's beginnings 11 years ago many of their customers have grown from bedroom start-ups to multi-million pound enterprises. In addition to providing payment technology Sage Pay also advise customers on the latest ecommerce trends and innovations to ensure they remain competitive.  "We've seen a considerable increase in mobile transactions, through both optimised websites and apps. Consumer demand is driving this change and we believe the German market will follow these trends.  We're passionate about helping our customers in all markets adapt so they can grow their businesses", explains James Beard, Head of International Development.

In the UK Sage Pay has business relationships with over 2,600 partners including digital agencies, web developers, hosting and shopping cart providers.  Many partners are already pan-European and have expressed interest in continuing the partnership in the German market.

Sage Pay's first partner in Germany will be ePages.  In Germany more than 30,000 online retailers use the ePages platform. "In the UK, we have been working successfully with Sage Pay for years", says ePages CEO Wilfried Beeck. "Sage Pay provides our target group, small and medium sized businesses with a simple, secure and cost-efficient solution. Considering the great trust in the Sage brand, we are confident that German online merchants will choose Sage Pay as their payment service provider."

Sage Pay's launch in the German market also provides opportunity for UK businesses to expand their offering to German customers. Through Sage Pay, UK businesses can offer payment types such as Sofort-Uberweissung, Giropay & ELV (elektronisches Lastschriftverfahren) through German language payment pages. "Germany is Europe's second largest e-commerce market, and the opportunity for UK businesses to widen their customer base is exciting" said Simon Black.

Editors notes

About Sage Pay

Sage Pay is the UK and Ireland's leading independent payment service provider (PSP) and is one of the most trusted payment brands.  Every year Sage Pay processes billions of pounds worth of secure payments for its 45,000 customers and makes the process of accepting payments online, over the phone, or in person simpler, faster, safer and more profitable for businesses of all sizes.

Sage Pay is a subsidiary of FTSE 100 business management software and services company The Sage Group plc.

About The Sage Group plc

The Sage Group plc is a leading global provider of business management software to small and medium sized companies, creating greater freedom for them to succeed. Sage understands how and why each business is unique. We provide products and services that suit varying needs, are a pleasure to use and are secure and efficient. Formed in 1981, Sage was floated on the London Stock Exchange in 1989 and entered the FTSE 100 in 1999. Sage has over 6 million customers and more than 13,600 employees in 24 countries covering the UK & Ireland, mainland Europe, North America, South Africa, Australia, Asia and Brazil. For further information please visit http://www.sage.com