Alternative Payments Increase Sales

Get More Orders from International Shoppers

The international market represents a growth market for ecommerce merchants that are seeking to increase revenues by getting more orders from outside of national borders. 

As domestic markets mature, companies are expanding to international markets to acquire new customers. 

You must offer alternative payments in order to capture orders from international buyers.  Outside of the US, the use of credit cards for online purchases is not strong.  Most global internet shoppers prefer to use local payment options to make purchases online.

Alternative Payments for the US Market

North America has the biggest penetration of internet usage, with 77.4% of the population of 340 million having the ability to make purchases online.  In North America, and the US in particular, bank branded debit and credit cards are the preferred method of buying online. 

Electronic checks are the most popular alternative payment method for Americans. Millions of US shoppers regularly pay for goods & services with an echeck. 

More than 30% of US ecommerce sites accept checks online. If you do not offer echecks at checkout, you risk losing a sale to your competitors that do.  

Alternative Payments Preferred by Europeans 

From 2000-2010, internet penetration in Europe increased by 352%.  Internet penetration in the US grew by 146%.  Online merchants that ignore the European market are missing a big opportunity to increase sales

Europe, with a population of 800 million, has a 58.4% internet penetration, with over 475 million Europeans who can buy online.  According to Forrester Research, 64% of Europeans have a credit card but more than half of them will not use their card to buy online.

Outside of the UK, Europeans prefer to use local bank transfers when making internet purchases. For example, in Germany, only 32% of the online shoppers use credit cards to make purchases online.  This is almost 50% less than the 61% of Germans who prefer a direct debit from a bank account when buying online.

There is a greater consumer market in Europe than is in North America based on the sheer number of  internet users.  And, as European internet penetration continues to expand, there is more potential for new orders in Europe than in North America.

Other Emerging Markets

Expansion of marketing to the US & Europe is somewhat easier than is expansion into Asia, which also has impressive growth volumes.  Europe and North America are part of “Western Culture” with similar buying habits and belief systems.  And, technical infrastructures in Europe and North America are on par with each other.

Still, Asia is also an important part of international growth for ecommerce merchants.  Asia has 825 million internet users but only a 21.5% internet penetration rates.  Growth of internet penetration in Asia from 2000-2010 was 621.8%.

Central and South America also represent growth markets for ecommerce.  Latin America and the Caribbean had growth of 1,032% from 2000-2010.

Conclusion

Offering alternative payments on your checkout page is the fastest way to get more sales.

In the US, electronic checks are a trusted alternative payment method. Millions of American shoppers use echecks to pay for goods & services on a regular basis. Accept checks online & get more orders.

For international shoppers, add local bank transfers. Popular throughout the world, local bank transfers are often preferred over cards.

Get more sales from the global ecommerce market.  Adding alternative payment methods to your website is quick way to obtain orders from shoppers around the world.

Are you interested in adding alternative payments to your checkout page to increase sales & profits?

Contact info@NationalACH.com 

Alterntive Payments for Global Ecommerce

Get More Sales with Alternative Payments

Global ecommerce is booming.  Riding the trend to success depends on having the right payment options at checkout.

In fact, studies show that that not seeing a preferred payment method at checkout leads to shopping cart abandonment.  If you do not have alternative payment options on your site, you are losing sales. 

It’s simple.  The more ways customers have to pay you, the more sales you make.

Alternative Payments for International Shoppers

Naturally, present the payment page in local currency and in the native language of the shopper.

At checkout, offer shoppers card payments. Plus the favored localized payment methods often preferred over cards.

In Europe, local bank transfers are popular. Europeans commonly prefer to pay with a local bank transfer rather than a card. And bank transfers are similar to a cash payment, with little risk of a disputed transaction.

Asian debit cards are popular throughout that region. The most popular card in Asia is China Union Pay.

In Brazil, localized payment options are the preferred way to pay for internet purchases.  Most Brazilian credit cards cannot be used for cross-border transactions.  Offering alliterative payments is the best way to get sales from this rapidly emerging market of web-savvy consumers.

Alternative Payments for US Shoppers

In the US, electronic checks are the most popular alternative payment method. More than 30% of US ecommerce sites accept checks online.  

International companies are also targeting the lucrative US market. To capture more sales from US shoppers, offer an echeck payment option at checkout. Merchants report sales lifts of up to 20% when they accept checks online.

Get more sales from shoppers that don’t have cards or are maxed out on cards. And many Americans simply prefer to pay with an electronic check instead of a card.

If a card declines, offer an electronic check payment option instead. You’ll capture sales that otherwise would be lost. Increasing customer satisfaction. While boosting your profits. 

Conclusion

The more ways customers can pay you at checkout, the more sales you make. Alternative payments are growing faster than card payments.

To capture sales from international shoppers, offer local bank transfers. And other alternative payments preferred within the region you are targeting.

To get more orders from US buyers, accept checks online. Electronic checks are regularly used by millions of Americans to make purchases online.

Are you interested in getting more sales from US and international shoppers?

Contact info@NationalACH.com today 

International Payments Electronic Funds Transfer

World Moving to Electronic Payments

According to a survey by the Association of Financial Professions, US corporations are rapidly moving to electronic funds transfer for business-to-business transactions.  The reasons given for the surge is advances in technology, increased focus on business improvement, and the need to make international payments in a global economy

In 2004, 81% of B2B transactions were paid by paper check.  By 2007 this number had dropped to 74%.  Today, only 57% of corporate B2B payments are made with paper checks.

In the coming 3 years, the use of paper checks will decline even further.  Half of the businesses surveyed said they plan to convert major suppliers to electronic payments within that time frame.

New Technology Now the Norm

New technology that allows for the rapid electronic clearing of paper checks has lessened the old advantage of paper checks, which was additional float time.  Paper checks are now seen more as a expense  than an economic benefit to companies.

International payments with electronic funds transfer has long been the norm in other parts of the world.  For example, in Europe and Asia, paper checks are seldom used.  And in countries like Finland, Germany, the Netherlands and Poland, paper checks are never used.

Conclusion

International payments with electronic funds transfer is vital to companies that wish to compete successfully in global markets. 

New international payment banking platforms link together the bank networks of many countries into a single, easy-to-use system. 

For smaller, non-time sensitive transactions, these platforms will replace wire transfers because they are cheaper and offer far better tracking and reporting capabilities.

Interested in international payments for your business?

Contact info@nationalach.com today

Associations Set International Payments Standards

The International Payments Framework is a membership association currently made of around twenty banks and central banks, clearing and settlement mechanisms, associations and software vendors based in Europe, the US, Canada, Brazil and South Africa working with international payments.

  The goals of the association include:

• Defining rules, standards and operating framework
• Simplifying non-urgent cross-border credit transfers
• Leveraging existing payment networks and International standards e.g. ISO 20022
• Enabling interoperability between domestic and regional non-urgent payments systems and banks

The association was formed in response to globalization.  Internationally, there are increasing numbers of organizations that need inexpensive, simplified payment mechanisms for sending and receiving international payments worldwide.

In the US, the National Automated Clearing House Association (NACHA)  is has implemented a new International Automated Clearing House (ACH) Transaction (IAT) rule.  The rule will simplify international payments and allow for fuller automation and tracking of all payments.

Interested in international payment processing?

Contact info@nationalach.com today