Chinese cross-border payments platform PingPong Payments is partnering with European bank BNP Paribas on acquiring services in support of Europe’s direct-to-consumer (D2C) market, according to a Thursday (May 26) press release.
Global eCommerce is expected to reach $5.5 trillion in 2022 and worldwide D2C sales grew 17% year over year in 2021, the company press release says, noting European eCommerce sales are on pace to almost double from 2019 to 2025.
“By establishing a more comprehensive partnership with BNP Paribas, PingPong Payments will be integrated into the mainstream European financial system, providing greater access to a variety of local payment methods, and helping merchants with acquiring needs in the EU to quickly expand to the local market,” VP Head of Global Institution Group Aaron Xu said in the press release.
Merchants can access PingPong’s platform directly or integrate through its API to process payments to vetted suppliers, collect and convert payments at lower costs and provide more transparency through their closed-loop payments ecosystem. PingPong supports online card payments for the top five card brands worldwide and local payment methods including online banking transfers, eWallets and buy now, pay later (BNPL).
“Based on BNP Paribas’ financial tools and infrastructure in the EU market, we will deeply integrate with PingPong’s digital platform, risk control system and other fintech capabilities to help merchants conduct cross-border businesses with lower costs, higher success rates and lower payment risks,” BNP Paribas said in the release.
Related: i2c, PingPong Team up on Cross-Border eCommerce
In April, PingPong teamed with digital payments and banking company i2c to provide cross-border eCommerce payment solutions to business owners. PingPong now uses i2c’s Software-as-a-Service (SaaS) platform to expand its commercial credit services to new regions, particularly Europe and Hong Kong SAR.
The companies say this product gives merchants access to instant payouts and lower transaction fees.
The companies say their collaboration will let PingPong use i2c’s Visa and Mastercard certifications to issue and process cards in Hong Kong SAR, and i2c’s Visa certification to issue and process in Europe.