According to Accenture, cross-border shopping is the fastest growing segment of the B2C e-commerce market, which means your online business is already international, whether or not you plan to sell globally.
To capture the largest share of a vast global market and manage the opportunities and risks that come with it, check out these three pieces of advice that will help you put in place a payments infrastructure that will drive conversion, control costs, and minimize the risks of international transactions.
1. Act like a local
For your online business to be successful, you need to convert browsers into buyers. In international markets, it helps to localize your sales and payment processes. Consider the following:
- On your checkout and payment pages, speak to your customers in their own language. If you're just starting to aggressively market overseas, target other English-speaking countries before expanding into markets that require translation.
- Set prices for your products and services in local currencies, saving your customers the trouble of calculating exchange rates and streamlining the checkout process.
- Allow your customers to use local payment methods. Most shoppers in the United States use credit cards, but many consumers in other regions prefer to pay in other ways, such as local direct debit.
2. Get help with swipe charges
It's important to understand the interchange rate (also known as a swipe fee) because it's charged every time you accept a credit or debit card for payment.
- Ask your merchant services provider to tell you the international exchange rates currently published by most card brands and ask for guidance on getting the lowest rate possible.
- Find out how you can qualify for lower rates: For example, if your average ticket value is high, your merchant services provider may be able to advise you on how you can submit more detailed transaction data (such as Level 2 or 3 data) to ensure you qualify for interchange rate discounts on larger tickets.
3. Fighting international fraudsters
Building a global customer base opens up new business opportunities, but it also increases the risk of card-not-present fraud. Make sure your e-commerce stack includes strong fraud prevention, and frequently review and update your settings. Check whether your system allows you to:
- It automatically scores risk and flags potentially suspicious transactions. Factors the system considers include whether the order is from a high-risk country, if the card number has been used recently in a large number of transaction attempts, and if the shipping address is near the card's billing address.
- Manually review transactions that are between being automatically declined and approved.
- Maintain a database with a list of proven violators whom you will refuse to do business with. Be careful not to be too broad in your criteria for targeting vendors, as you don't want to lose legitimate business.
“Unlocking your global growth potential may be easier than you think”
Ultimately, the payments strategy you choose will depend on the maturity of your business and how aggressively you want to sell your goods and services to buyers in different international regions. With the right payments platform and a partner to help you scale, unlocking your global growth potential might be easier than you think.
Learn more about SVB Global Merchant Services and how we can help with your growth plans.
Related content
Visit SVB’s Payments Trends and Insights page to read more in our series on how to optimize your company’s payment tools and processes.
