For eCommerce companies, it’s a big world. That may be contrary to Walt Disney’s perception, but “big” is the best word to describe global eCommerce today, as illustrated by stats like these:
Online retailers can boost sales by 10-15% on average by extending their offerings to international customers.
20% of cross-border purchases are worth more than $200—higher than the average value in the domestic market.
65% of consumers would purchase globally rather than locally if the price is right.
Big growth awaits for eCommerce businesses who go global, no doubt about it. But your ability to capitalize on this opportunity depends in part on your payment process: Is it designed to capture the maximum number of international sales? If you’re seeing a high rate of abandonment and/or higher-than-average refunds and chargebacks among international shoppers, it could be the fault of your global payments provider.
So in terms of your payment system, what should you be doing to get global right? Here are five things you can do—all of which are made possible by a good global payment gateway.
1. Accept local currencies from all over the world.
Ninety-three percent of international shoppers prefer to pay in their own currency, so if you’re asking shoppers to pay in a foreign currency it’s safe to assume you’re losing more customers than you’re capturing. If you’re only pricing in USD, for example, chances are people in the UK are leaving your store and purchasing the product from another site that offers the same product in pound sterling.
There are more than a few local currencies out there, so the more your global payments provider supports the better. Plus, transactions processed in the same currency for which the card is issued are more likely to be approved, boosting your transaction success rate. And don’t forget about your own merchant account—having the ability to accept payments in multiple currencies into a single merchant account makes things easier on you!
2. Utilize a global network of banks to approve transactions.
Every time a shopper submits a buy order, the payment gateway routes it to an acquiring bank for approval. Some payment processors have just one acquiring bank partner (often, located in the U.S.) to handle approvals; that means transactions originating outside the U.S. will be seen as cross-border payments and are up to 20% more likely to be declined.
A global payments provider that has multiple acquiring partners in different parts of the world will improve your payment conversion success rate, simply because overseas transactions can be submitted for approval to banks located in the same geographic region. BlueSnap customers have seen up to 17% improvement in transaction success rates due to this global network of banks.
3. Send every transaction to the bank most likely to approve it.
If your global payment gateway has multiple bank partners, you’ll capture even more sales if the gateway automatically sends transactions to the banks that are most likely to approve them—what we refer to as an “intelligent” routing system. Based on things like the currency being used, and the geography of the shopper, an intelligent system “learns” the best places to send transactions so they’ll get approved. And in case of a decline, a failover system kicks in and sends the transaction to a second bank (and even a third, if necessary!) in an attempt to get the job done. Now that’s maximizing your conversions!
4. Have a strong fraud-fighting strategy to protect more transactions.
$57.8 billion—that’s the cost of potential fraud in eight industries studied as part of the 2017 Global Fraud Index. So it’s critical to evaluate your global payment gateway’s fraud-prevention measures to make sure you’re getting a high-enough level of protection—without having to pay extra for it or manage an additional integration. Does your payment solution rely on a homegrown fraud-detection mechanism, or one provided by a partner company with fraud expertise? Does it analyze every transaction for fraud indicators? Does it give you the ability to customize your level of fraud protection? If your payment solution doesn’t live up to these parameters, you’re likely losing out on international sales due to fraud.
5. Use payment data to improve your international checkout experience.
It’s important to continually improve your international checkout experience with the help of payment analytics. For example, if an analysis of your conversion rates reveals that a higher percentage of international shopper transactions are being declined, that may mean you need to take a look at things like whether your site appears to be secure in the eyes of customers, or whether you’re asking for too much information at checkout.
A good global payment gateway should offer a variety of data on all aspects of the payment process—including ways to track sales by currency and region (among other things); refunds and chargebacks reports; explanations for declined transactions; and reports to make reconciliation a breeze.
Big Opportunities Await With Global Sales
At BlueSnap, we want to help set your company up for success in the international arena. By connecting your PrestaShop store to our global payment gateway you’ll be able to do all of the above, creating a seamless payment experience for your customers in every corner of the world. Get started taking advantage of cross-border opportunities today!
