Go Digital, Go Local

In “The Way Payments Are Now Done,” 33 payment executives discuss what payments’ “new normal” looks like. Charles Rosenblatt, chief strategy officer of Payoneer, discusses how in the post-pandemic age, there has been an evolution within digital commerce, as companies strive to separate themselves from their competitors and find new revenue models.

In the early months of the pandemic, there was a lot of attention on the “newly” digital economy. Businesses of all sizes, from all industries and locations, rushed online to remain competitive and survive as markets went into lockdown.

But the trend toward digitization wasn’t new; it was decades in the making, and consumer expectations had long been evolving to prioritize personalized, online, user-friendly, instantaneous experiences. All that really changed was the scope – it was no longer sufficient for only the biggest brands and merchants to be online. Now, even the mom-and-pop corner shop had to turn to digital commerce to stay relevant.

The Commerce Evolution

Today, the participants in the digital ecosystem are incredibly diverse, as are their business models. We’re seeing an evolution within digital commerce as companies strive to separate themselves from their competitors and find new revenue models. Platforms that were purely consumer ad-driven, like Google and Facebook, are now plugging eCommerce directly into their businesses. SMBs are also evolving, with many “graduating” off marketplaces and looking to sell directly to customers all over the world. The need for easily integrated payment solutions has never been greater, and the expectations for these payments experiences have been raised.

This increasingly connected economy has driven one of the most important new trends within payments: the necessity to offer a variety of localized and alternative payment methods. Today’s digital businesses sell across borders, and their customers expect a tailored checkout experience. Suddenly, integration with a single gateway or payment service provider (PSP) is insufficient, while implementing a whole host of payment providers requires significant resources. Merchants of all sizes are finding themselves unprepared for the complexity this level of localization requires, and are seeking out technological solutions.

Choice = Satisfaction

Businesses want to be able to get their funds quickly, in any global currency and in any form that they need to best conduct their business. Some want the ability to have a virtual card so they can pay for the everyday needs of their business using easily accessible network rails. Some want to pay vendors through simple account-to-account payment methods, whether they are external, like ACH or wire transfers, or internal, like a ledger transaction between accounts. Some want to send money to hold in their eWallets or investment accounts. And others like the safety and security of leaving their money in a USD-denominated account, as opposed to being forced to take money in a more volatile local currency.

Timing also plays into choice. The ability to get a working capital advance to fund their business ahead of receivables is critical to driving a flywheel effect, which allows for a much faster growth rate compared to only relying on cash that is readily accessible.

Overall, the ability to get paid when, how and where you want is becoming an expectation for businesses’ clients today. At Payoneer, we’re continuing to invest in flexibility for our customers, making every payment a local one and allowing for maximum choice in their use of their hard-earned funds.