secure enough to pay, that may not be enough; if you’re operating in the Netherlands and aren’t supporting iDEAL, then you’re creating barriers to payment and friction for 56 percent of your potential customer base. Ultimately, each market a merchant trades in has its own nuances and payment culture. The good news is that you don’t need to understand all these fluctuations and variations yourself, as a payment partner with expertise in local payment methods can enable merchants to target every customer, in any country, as an individual.
Don’t get caught out by foreign exchange (FX) rates Arguably one of the bigger and continued sticking points for retailers dealing in cross-border e-commerce is finding their prices are less competitive than larger or local competitors due to having to add the cost of increased FX rates to the price of their products. Their other option is to absorb the costs themselves and watch their profit margins suffer as a result. To resolve this, retailers need to work with local banks, or expert payment providers, to ensure they get the best FX rates available, allowing them to increase their price competitiveness and secure more sales. Don’t worry – there are specialists who can do this for you. Solutions are now available to facilitate crossborder merchants with not only a solution to optimize and offer their customers the very best in FX rates, ensure they are regulation-compliant and provide the hyperlocal knowledge and expertise that will make international trading a pleasure and not a pressure.
Be regulation aware Perhaps the most important piece of advice I have for every brand I work with is to continually investigate and make themselves aware of the various
territory regulations. Secure Customer Authentication (SCA), for example, is a European regulation that is part of the EU’s Payment Services Directive (PSD2). While a similar protocol has not yet made it into federal regulation in the US, regulations aren’t going anywhere, and merchants need to be aware of the impact they can have on their transactions. Indeed, efforts such as the California Consumer Privacy Act (CCPA), which seeks to harmonise US data privacy laws with the EU’s General Data Protection Regulations (GDPR), are an indicator that the North American region is perhaps on the fast-track to catch up.
Local Expertise - Everywhere With so many payment methods and regional differences around the globe it’s important to study up on your hyperlocal knowledge – or to employ specialists that operate in those regions – so that your business is as competitive as possible. That’s not to say that an independent merchant – big or small – needs to go out and hire a new team to support borderless efforts. The amount of resources required to succeed can be prohibitive for smaller merchants, so it pays to do your research. Partnering with experts in the payment arena can provide all of the benefits you would get by operating in-country, without the huge investment of both time and money it takes to set up business across borders. With e-commerce, and particularly cross-border e-commerce, looking likely to continue its sterling growth across 2021 and beyond, brands need to plan for operating on a global scale from the very start. Regulatory awareness, an in-depth understanding of the consumer experience, and an appreciation for cultural and regional differences will be vital to staying successful in an ever-changing economic landscape.
ABOUT THE EXPERT Sam Ranieri, CEO, Reach Sam Ranieri is the founder and CEO of Reach, the crossborder payments provider that delivers lower costs, higher conversions, and less risk for merchants. A seasoned executive and leader, Sam has more than two decades of experience in the fintech, foreign exchange, and international treasury management industries, along with several years of entrepreneurship expertise. As the leading voice at Reach, Sam brings ethical, proactive, and impassioned management to all arms of the business, being responsible for organizing Reach’s risk and compliance practices, toplevel budgets, key relationships, strategic direction, and debt and capital raises. Under Sam’s stewardship Reach has exploded onto the worldwide payments scene, quickly establishing itself as a leading global provider of crossborder payment solutions. Prior to his role with Reach, Sam was the driving force behind the corporate division of foreign exchange provider Calforex, setting up the business in 2002 before steering it to an annual revenue generation of $3 billion CAD. As the business grew, Sam managed the division’s successful merger with Axiom Foreign Exchange International, leading to the creation of Shift Connect Ltd. Following this merger, Sam now also serves as a Director on the board at Shift in addition to his role with Reach. Outside of Reach, Sam turns his leadership skills and adaptability to a challenge closer to home, coaching his son and his son’s team in the nation’s favourite sporting pastime – ice hockey.
North America Outlook issue 03 | 9
