International merchants need support to operate in each location where they’ve got a storefront. Whether you’re trying to code a universal experience that changes currency on the fly to reflect recent rates and charges accordingly or running separate stores and portals in each country where you offer goods, there are solutions we can help you with. Some businesses only need support for one or two additional locations, especially those operating across a geographical border where their actual customer base in both countries is still grouped in a single easy to define location. In those cases, a custom agreement that just addresses those needs can be easily tailored to suit your business model.
Payment Portal Gateways and International Customers
To provide service to a customer in another country, you need a payment portal capable of recognizing cards issued by banks in that country. Sometimes those cards also include provisions for currency flexibility, making them easy to work with. Often, though, they do not. At that point, a payment processor has to be capable of providing merchant services compatible with banks in that country, and there are only a couple options with regard to that.
Offshore merchant accounts that accept payment from most major issuing banks globally and process them outside your home jurisdiction
International payment processors with operations in major currencies who can provide country-specific payment portal configurations
Instabill offers both of these services, with different plan configurations to suit the needs of merchants in a variety of niche operations. Why settle for a plan that is only a partial fit for your needs when you can opt into a program that’s built to meet you wherever you operate?
Differences Between International and Offshore Processing Costs
Often, opting for an offshore merchant account is a risk management strategy that provides protection from types of fraud as well as discretion and security from financial espionage or political retaliation. For many companies, that makes it incredibly important to providing uniterrupted service to customers. It also makes providing those services a bit more expensive, because any time there’s additional security there’s a cost to achieving it.
International merchant accounts tend to be a little less expensive to operate, but that’s because they operate through in-country gateways that comply with local regulations and use local currencies. As a result, they are not insulated from domestic issues in any of your markets. While this is a small consideration for many business models, it’s a huge one for those where security and privacy are issues. At the same time, though, an international account without the high-risk features folded into offshore processing agreements can be quite cost effective, and the use of customized portals can also help you sort your income by origin point, keeping funds separate so you can more easily track expenses and tax obligations by location.
Meet Your Customers Where They Live
There are a lot of domestic processors and small local operators who advertise support for international transactions, but that’s not the same thing as having an international merchant account. The difference is actually quite large, because those processors are basically providing support for customer cards that originate in other countries without providing support that is local to the customer. It’s the equivalent of someone on vacation using an international card on-site at your store. International merchant accounts, by contrast, are built to meet international customers where they are, as if you’d opened a storefront in their neighborhood with processing that’s entirely native to their currency and local financial regulations. That makes a huge difference to their experience, as well as to the backed support you have when asking for help with your service.
Get the Support You Need To Build a Global Business
Being able to accept payment from international customers is important, but its even more important your payment processing reflect your business. That’s why our team is here to help you make decisions about features like support for additional countries, offshore support for global transactions, or even resources for designating offshore business checking solutions that allow you to easily receive your funds from your international merchant account. Our team understands our customers’ needs, which means even when we don’t provide a companion service we can help you identify it and understand how it interacts with our merchant service offerings. Learn more today. Get a quote for service.