Paying and receiving payments are essential for any business to operate—no surprise in that.
Whether you’re compensating suppliers, sourcing products, paying employees, or receiving payments from customers halfway around the world, your payment systems must be quick, safe, and efficient.
Cross-border payments might sound like something only big multinational corporations need to worry about. But in reality, they are just as important for smaller businesses.
In this article, we’ll discuss how working with a robust cross-border payment solution can help streamline your operations, enhance cash flow, and reduce costs.
To ensure you’re getting the best value, we’ll also guide you in selecting the right solution and provider for your business—and highlight key features to look for.
Why Your Business Needs a Cross-Border Payments Solution
In today’s increasingly interconnected world, there’s no reason to limit your business to just local markets.
That’s because cross-border payment solutions can open the doors to a new world of possibilities for companies wanting to expand, diversify, and streamline their operations.
If your focus has solely been local, now’s the time to explore how these solutions can fuel your business growth on a global level.
Here are just a few reasons to consider investing in a cross-border payment platform.
Access to Global Markets
Cross-border payment platforms empower businesses to expand beyond their local market and tap into global opportunities.
From reaching new customer segments to connecting with global partners, these platforms help you expand your business in ways that were previously much more complicated.
Plus, you can use these solutions to hire top talent from around the world and streamline international supply chains. After all, a cross-border payment solution can allow you to make (and receive) payments as easily as if you were all in the same country.
This larger market reach can create exciting growth opportunities and significantly increase your revenue.
Speed and Efficiency
Today’s cross-border payment systems are all about speed—often processing transactions in real-time.
This translates to faster cash flow, which is especially key for smaller businesses to keep operations running smoothly.
No need for delays when sending or receiving funds: with cross-border payment solutions, everything happens pretty much instantaneously.
Even better, by cutting out unnecessary hold-ups and administrative work, your business can more easily free up resources and improve overall efficiency.
Better Exchange Rates and Lower Fees
Because they often cut out “middle people” like traditional banks, cross-border payment solutions can help businesses save money on each transaction—helping keep your expenses in check.
Using these platforms’ automatic and competitive currency conversion features, businesses can avoid high exchange rates and extra (and often hidden) fees.
Overall, cross-border payment solutions make international transactions much more affordable for senders and recipients alike.
Enhanced Customer Experience
If you’re selling products online, standing out from the competition is key—and convenience plays a huge role.
No matter where customers are located globally, cross-border payment platforms provide them the freedom and flexibility to pay in their preferred currency and payment method, making the checkout process much smoother.
By catering to international buyers’ preferences and ensuring payments go through in a reliable and timely way, can help encourage repeat business.
Ultimately, offering smooth cross-border payment options can foster stronger brand loyalty and keep customers coming back for more.
Scalability for Business Growth
Today’s cross-border payment solutions are designed to handle transaction volumes of all types and sizes.
So, as your business expands into new regions, you don’t need to worry about eventually outgrowing your chosen system.
Whether you’re reaching more customers, adding suppliers, or exploring new markets, your payment system will grow with you, keeping things efficient and disruption-free.
With one less concern on your plate, you can focus on what matters most—driving your business growth forward.
What To Look for in a Cross-Border Payments Solution
Now that you understand the value of cross-border payment solutions for your business, you’re probably asking yourself, “How do I choose the right one?”
To help you make the best choice, we’ve broken down key features you should look for when selecting a platform for your international business payments.
Currency Coverage and Conversion Rates
Taking your business global can be daunting, especially when you have to deal with fluctuating exchange rates and extra fees for currency conversions.
That’s why it’s so important to choose a solution that:
- Supports a wide range of currencies.
- Offers competitive exchange rates.
- Handles currency conversions automatically.
Some providers even let you hold multi-currency accounts, so you can keep funds in local currencies, avoid unnecessary conversions, and save even more.
Transparency and Cost Optimization
Many “traditional” international payment methods often involve extra charges, like intermediary bank fees and currency conversion markups. This makes it hard to know exactly how much each payment will actually cost.
To avoid these surprises, look for a solution that:
- Displays all fees upfront, with a clear and transparent pricing structure.
- Provides flexible pricing models (whether per-transaction fees, monthly subscriptions, or volume-based pricing) so you can choose the most cost-effective option.
- Offers added benefits like fraud protection, detailed reporting and dispute resolution (these may come at an added cost, but could be worth the extra investment).
Combined, all these features help ensure your transactions will be much more predictable and cost-effective in the long run.
Security and Compliance Standards
Unlike domestic transactions, cross-border payments come with unique risks like fraud, data breaches, interception and tampering of transactions, and more.
One of the reasons for this is that different countries have varying security regulations. In other words, there is no single authority to oversee and govern international transactions.
To keep your payments and data out of the reach of cybercriminals, look for a reliable platform that includes:
- Advanced security protocols like encryption, tokenization, and two-factor authentication.
- Fraud detection tools.
- Real-time monitoring.
- Account takeover protection.
So you can avoid hefty fines, it’s also crucial that your solution is compliant with international anti-money laundering (AML) standards, know your customer (KYC) rules, and other global regulations.
Transaction Speed and Tracking
Same-country money transfers generally happen instantaneously. But this is not always the case when you’re sending and receiving payments across international borders.
Days- or weeks-long delays can be caused by several factors, including manual processing, multiple steps for verification across multiple intermediaries, and anti-money laundering checks.
For small businesses, these delays can disrupt operations, slow down cash flow, and damage supplier and customer relationships.
That’s why it’s essential to confirm that your cross-border payment provider offers real-time or near-real-time payments—so you can get funds quickly and keep your business running smoothly.
In addition, look for a solution that offers tracking features. That way, you get ongoing visibility into where your payments are at every step.
Automation, API Connectivity, and Ease of Use
As you search for a cross-border payments platform, keep your eyes peeled for these essential features, which will help your business save a great deal of time:
- API connectivity ensures your payment system can sync data automatically with other business tools, eliminating manual entry, reducing the likelihood of human error, and keeping your financial records organized and accurate.
- Automation is another game-changer. It can do the heavy lifting of converting different currencies without the need for constant human oversight. It can also handle recurring and batch transactions, reconciliation processes, and even schedule payments for you.
- It’s also important to choose a solution that’s simple to use. Look for a platform with an intuitive interface, so your team can get up to speed quickly, saving both time and training costs.
Ultimately, these features will help your business run more efficiently, improve accuracy, and free up valuable time so you can focus on growth.
Tips for Finding a Trusted Partner
When you’re looking for a solution, make sure to also consider the company behind it.
Choosing a cross-border payment provider isn’t just about meeting your immediate needs—it’s about finding a reliable partner that can evolve along with your business.
Here are some helpful tips to guide you in making a smart, strategic decision when evaluating payment providers.
- Read customer reviews: Look for real-world testimonials not only on the provider’s website but also on industry forums. This will give you an idea of how the company has helped businesses like yours navigate cross-border payments—and offer valuable insights into both the strengths and potential weaknesses of the provider.
- Check out their other customers: While not everyone writes reviews or participates in case studies, many customers are happy enough to have their name and logo featured on the provider’s website. If the provider works with established, reputable businesses, that’s a strong sign of trustworthiness.
- Consider reputation, recognition, and longevity: Your ideal provider will have a strong track record in the cross-border payment industry. See how many years they’ve been operating (often the longer, the better) and whether they’ve won any industry awards.
- Look at their partners: Top payment providers often partner with banks, financial institutions, and tech companies. These collaborations can offer additional benefits, including access to real-time payments, currency hedging, or even blockchain integrations, so be sure to check out who they’re working with.
- Ensure they provide quality customer support: Especially when you’re sending money across different countries, you need reliable access to responsive, results-focused customer service. Look for providers who offer multilingual regional teams with local knowledge of regulations and payment practices.
- Confirm their ability to scale: Pick a provider that’s equipped and willing to support your business as you expand. Look for a company committed to staying ahead with regular updates, regulations, and innovations to meet your evolving requirements.
- Don’t overlook their vision and mission: Seek out a partner whose values align with your own. After all, having a provider who shares your vision can make working together that much smoother. It’s all about “speaking the same language,” both literally and figuratively.
With these guidelines in mind, you’ll be better equipped to manage the complexities of cross-border payments and build strong, enduring partnerships for your business’s success.
The Cross-Border Payments Solution You Deserve
If you’re looking to take your business beyond local markets and expand internationally, UniTeller is the partner you need to make that goal a reality.
At UniTeller, our mission is simple: To help companies of all sizes connect with the world and unlock global opportunities through smooth, secure cross-border payments.
With over 30 years of experience in the industry, we’re all about innovation and staying ahead of the curve, ensuring our products and services always stay in lockstep with your evolving business needs. With UniTeller, you’re not just expanding your reach—you’re gaining a reliable partner who makes global growth possible.
