How to accept international payments online

Accepting International Payments

According to reports, 76% of international shoppers prefer to pay in their local currency. Therefore deciding to take your products to a global market can be an exciting yet daunting time. This section will set out how to help you find the best ways to accept international payments online.

Payment Service Providers

Payment service providers, such as Opayo, PayPal, Stripe, Amazon Payments, all allow you to accept international payments online and provide you with a secure global payment gateway.

Features

• Easy to use

Most online payment services are simple to navigate and require just your basic banking details to begin processing payments

• Efficient processing times

Most international online payment services provide fast processing times, making it much faster than making a payment via bank transfer for example. 

• Secure 

Online payments are one of the most secure methods of accepting payments from another country,  thanks to the encryption and tight security surrounding each international payment. 

Considerations 

• Transaction fees

Unfortunately, there are transaction fees involved when using payment service providers. While the cost of every single transaction is low (two to five % on average), costs can add up if you regularly accept international payments. 

Consider your Customer's Expectations

If you want to allow your customers to pay using their local currency then firstly establish if your payment gateway allows you to accept payments in additional currencies.

Ideally, the customer should be made to feel as comfortable with their experience as possible. Prices should be displayed in the currency that is local to the customer (for example display Euros if the customer is in Ireland, display GBP if they are based in the UK) and the customer is able to pay in their local currency too. The presentation and formatting of the currency should be correct too, for example: £45.00 or 45,00€