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Sure, you can offer products or service for sale to consumers world-wide. But, how are customers going to pay for them?
You may have a beautiful website. Your products or services may be compelling. But, if you do not provide the right international payment processing options to buyers, you may as well fold up your tent and go home.
Naturally, any ecommerce business ought to include credit cards as payment option. Smart merchants maximize sales from credit cards by offering international payment processing in local currencies.
Yet, success with international payment processing takes more than simply offering credit card payments to consumers. Bank issued credit cards have low penetration world-wide. Consumers in the US, UK, Japan and Australia use cards for ecommerce purchases. But, this is not the case for consumers in the rest of the world. For instance, Germany is the second largest ecommerce market in the EU. However, only 25% of German consumers have credit cards. In China, less than 5% of consumers have credit cards.
Each country has a favored payment option. Examine your market. Make sure your international payment processing company gives you localized card options. Offer JCB in Asia, Maestro in the UK, Chinese debit cards in China etc.
Every additional step at check out increases shopping cart abandonment. Don’t risk losing a sale by forcing customers to convert prices to local currency. International payment processing in localized currency immediately makes consumers comfortable when shopping on your site. Customers want payment familiarity when purchasing, particularly when the merchant is located in another country. Local currency international payment processing inspires consumer trust which translates into more sales for merchants.
Throughout most of the world, local bank transfers are an important international payment processing option. This is a low-cost way for consumers to push money from their local bank account to the merchant’s bank account. The added benefit of local bank transfers is that funds are guaranteed and chargebacks are virtually non-existent.
International payment processing through mobile phones is a “must have” for any merchant selling low-cost virtual goods and digital content. Merchants pass the mobile surcharges on to consumers. Therefore, it costs merchants nothing to offer mobile international payment processing.
Consumers are increasing conditioned to paying with mobile. For proof, look no further than the millions of application downloads to smart phones. Or witness the incredible rise of mobile international payment processing within online games and virtual worlds. In some parts of Asia, mobile payments account for 70% of all online digital entertainment purchases.
GPS activated telephones are ushering in new automated pay-by-phone options every day. Consumers can be notified of sales at their favorite stores nearby with an automated SMS message and pay immediately.
Businesses expanding globally need to adapt to the culture and buying habits of target markets. Offer international payment processing options that suit the buying preferences of local consumers. Remember, consumers shop globally but want to pay locally. The right international payment processing makes it easy for consumers to buy from you and that’s the name of the game.
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