FedEx Enters Cross-Border eCommerce

FedEx is making moves to enter eCommerce on a global scale.

FedEx Trade Networks, the international freight forwarding arm of FedEx Corp., announced yesterday (March 22) that it is relaunching Bongo International as FedEx CrossBorder, positioned as an eCommerce technology solutions platform that enables online retailers to deal with cross-border commerce issues, such as regulatory compliance, secure payment processing, multi-currency pricing and credit card fraud protection, as well as connecting them to eCommerce consumers around the world.

“Customers are looking for ways to tap into eCommerce markets internationally, and FedEx CrossBorder helps provide that access,” James R. Muhs, president and CEO of FedEx Trade Networks, stated in a press release. “FedEx CrossBorder expands the FedEx portfolio and provides [online retailers] with opportunities to ship locally and grow internationally. [Online retailers] ship their orders to one of our domestic locations, and FedEx CrossBorder gets the orders to the customers’ international destinations.”

The release notes that FedEx CrossBorder can work within a retailer’s existing website and shopping cart platform, allowing those companies to maintain their brand identity, while expanding their consumer reach in more than 200 countries and territories.

“Only about one-third of U.S.-based global eCommerce sites accept foreign currencies, and research tells us that customers are more likely to abandon shopping carts that only show U.S. dollar pricing,” Chip Hull, vice president of FedEx CrossBorder, commented in the press release. “FedEx CrossBorder addresses international purchasing obstacles with a seamless checkout and delivery approach that accepts over 80 currencies, provides 15 payment options, manages multiple delivery options and offers credit card fraud protection, all through a single platform.”