Factors to consider when creating a global payments strategy

As cross-border e-commerce grows in popularity, companies need a plan to serve an international customer base

 

5 minute read

Key takeaways

  • Three out of four global shoppers buy on non-domestic websites, including one-third of U.S. consumers1
  • To create a seamless purchase experience, businesses need an integrated payments infrastructure that considers local preferences and deals in multiple currencies
  • A comprehensive global payment solution uses algorithms to track transactions, helping to minimize fraud and mitigate costs

Today’s economy is global and constantly connected. Consumers digitally cross borders to shop for their favorite products and brands when they want and for what they want to pay. They use a variety of devices, increasing the importance of payments systems that can handle the worldwide traffic.

 

According to a January 2022 study by PYMNTS.com, three out of four online consumers have shopped with retailers outside their home countries in the past year. The PYMNTS.com study showed the value of global cross-border retail payments is predicted to reach $3.56 trillion by the end of 2022.2

 

This trend is a huge opportunity for merchants providing they can develop a global payments strategy that keeps costs low, minimizes fraud and creates a frictionless buying experience for customers — no matter their latitude, longitude, or local currency.

“The most successful companies will be the ones that can meet the new global demand and serve an increasingly geographically diverse customer base.”

Paul Sandmann | Bank of America Head of International Expansion Strategy, Merchant Services

Thinking outside the cash box

As varied as the types of customers around the world are the ways they want to buy. A major challenge of selling to them is meeting their payment expectations. Consumers want to spend in familiar ways, whether that means using their local currency or one of the growing numbers of alternative payment methods (APMs) like Alipay, WeChat Pay, MobilePay, and other digital wallets. It is predicted that more than 4.4 billion consumers will be using digital wallets by 2025.3  As of 2021, merchants offered international shoppers an average of 6.8 payment methods to choose from.4

 

Understanding consumer payment preferences enables businesses to offer the most relevant payment types by region, delivering customer satisfaction with the goods and services.

“To unlock their growth potential, businesses must combine a global strategy with a local approach.”

Natalie Willems-Rosman | Bank of America Merchant Specialist Executive, Merchant Services

Fighting friction and fraud

APMs cause friction points as merchants face the prospect of building different processes around each APM, including integrating fraud mitigation add-ons specific to each region in which they do business.

 

Effective management of charge-backs, authorization rates, transaction routing and consumer authentication raise additional uncertainties. Are you ready to excel in the global marketplace?

 

Download our full report and read more insights.

 

1 Cross-border retail payments tracker, PYMNTS.com, Jan. 2022

2  ibid

3  ibid

4  ibid

 

Paul Sandman | Bank of America Head of International Expansion Strategy, Merchant Services

Natalie Willems-Rosman | Merchant Specialist Executive | Merchant Services at Bank of America

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