A seamless payment experience is one of the reasons rideshare companies like Uber have gained popularity over the years. Now, other industries are seeking to offer a similar experience to their own customers and clients.
What lessons can foreign exchange (FX) service providers take from the Uber playbook?
The newest PYMNTS.com X-Border Receivables Report, powered by Flywire, explores how companies engaged in FX transactions are working to deliver real-time, seamless transactions to help businesses carry on with their operations and deliver payments to recipients.
News from the cross-border space
Some Asian markets are pitching their countries’ medical facilities as a means to attract medically-motivated travelers.
In Malaysia, for instance, the government is planning to position the country as a haven for medical travelers. The Malaysia Healthcare Travel Council (MHTC) is will spend $7 billion in USD to promote the nation’s fertility services, such as IVF treatments. The move comes after Malaysia saw a 16 to 17 percent increase in medically-motivated travel each year since 2011.
Meanwhile, India’s government is making its own pitch to draw travelers to make use of the nation’s healthcare facilities. Noting roughly 500,000 foreign patients visit India each year for medical services, the Indian government launched an online portal that highlights the nation’s medical services in Arabic, French and Russian languages.
And, while some people travel for medical care, most travelers visit foreign countries for leisure and business purposes. To help tourists traveling to Hong Kong, Macau and Greater Bay Area of Zhuhai, Hong Kong telecommunications firm PCCW Global recently partnered with consulting firm Zhuhai Da Heng Qin Science and Technology Development to launch a new mobile payment solution in the region. The service is aimed at promoting eCommerce by providing multi-currency contactless payment options, making it simpler for travelers to make payments and for local businesses to accept them.
Data Dive: Professional Services
The number of remotely-based workers employed by U.S. firms has been growing over the past few decades, as companies seek to reduce costs on overhead and workers seek greater flexibility in their work-life balances. But for workers based overseas, getting paid for services rendered can be challenging because of the cross-border payment processes involved.
The latest X-Border Receivables Report includes a deep data dive on the benefits and challenges involved in employing remote workers and how the trend is positioned to influence international payment services in the next few years.
Putting cross-border exchanges in the fast lane
One of the reasons behind the success of rideshare companies like Uber and Lyft has been the largely frictionless experiences these services provide. In turn, seemingly every consumer-focused company is taking cues from Uber’s success and hoping to strike its own digitally-driven commercial boon in the process, regardless of industry. Foreign exchange providers are no different. For the November report, Mark Frey, COO of Cambridge Global Payments discusses the need for FX service providers take a lesson from rideshare strategy to deliver for mobile-first solutions, in-country payment methodologies and, above all, the fast, secure and seamless transactions.
To read the feature story, the data dive and the latest notable headlines on cross-border receivables, download the report.
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About The Report
The PYMNTS X-Border Receivables Report, powered by Flywire, is your go-to resource for staying up-to-date on a bimonthly basis on the notable changes and shifts in the cross-border receivables market.
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