Paysafe: Global Payments Masterclass Summary

Finance

Sponsored by PaySafe

Gustavo Ruiz Moya, SVP & CEO Latin America & Global Head Open Banking, Paysafe

Gustavo Ruiz Moya, SVP & CEO Latin America & Global Head of Open Banking at Paysafe, guides you through this masterclass series to help you understand the payments landscape. You’ll learn what implementing a global payments scale entails and the challenges merchants encounter as they try to expand their geographic reach, and pick up some recommendations for payment solutions options that give you access to greater customer markets, such as the unbanked and underbanked.

There are many challenges that merchants face daily when it comes to the payments landscape, and these can expand when companies embark on diversification strategies or try to expand their reach and scale globally. When entering any new market, any company needs to understand the new operating and regulatory environment. They will need to set up a local bank account and offer payment options typical to that market, all of which can become basic obstacles for a company wanting to expand beyond its traditional local market.

When seeking to tap emerging markets, there are also specific considerations to take into account. Most emerging markets often have a fragmented infrastructure and, in many cases, consumers may not have the option to make digital payments. This puts pressure on merchants to access, or establish from scratch, such payment methods at their own time and cost, through which bank transfers can be received and payments processed automatically.

“Let’s take Latin America as an example,” says Ruiz Mora. “55 per cent of the total population has a bank account and only around 40 per cent has a credit card, which means that you’re not able to sell your service or product to a significant portion of the population. Furthermore, if we consider Latin America’s heavy use of cash, the merchant must not only create or access a network through which cash can be received, but also through which payment confirmation happens. And if we go to other regions where the unbanked population is even larger, such as Africa, you will find that the telephone carriers are the ones carrying out all the payments, processing on behalf of merchants even in the western world.”

As merchants dive into a new ecosystem, they need to also be aware of certain hidden costs associated with global payment transactions, including fraud, risk and compliance. All these factors are cost-dependent on the type of channels set up and what infrastructure needs to be created and managed. Aside from these costs, there are also additional fees to consider, including legal, tax and technology risks. To operate in different markets, any merchant needs to consider all the above, adding more levels of complexity when implementing a global payments solution.

To go global, merchants need to enable as many payment options as possible. Paysafe offers a global payment platform that facilitates payment options in more than 100 markets, which covers card acquiring locally and internationally, bank transfers, wallets and cash to digital, all within the largest banking network connection worldwide.

To provide an integrated payments solution, Paysafe has created legal entities in each market, allowing merchants to operate and process payments in the countries of their choice without having the same local entity structure. It has also built the tax, compliance and regulatory framework needed to provide a global oversight for each merchant and each market of their interest. Paysafe’s infrastructure also includes the networks and connectivity to enable payments globally. This all ensures merchants can access markets that were previously inaccessible.

“We are continuously talking to regulators, ensuring that the payment options that are being implemented can be accommodated,” adds Moya. “We work with the banks and financial institutions as in many cases they need to develop and complement their services as technology continues to evolve. We are at the forefront of innovation, allowing us to integrate a suite of payment options as Open Banking gets rolled out worldwide.”

As part of this tailor-made process, Paysafe assesses every merchant’s business needs and opportunities, as well as technical requirements, testing and rollout, and performance monitoring and optimisation. During the integration process, Paysafe also helps merchants identify opportunities and growth potential in new markets as it builds the network solution.

As payments continue to evolve, Paysafe is at the forefront, working with regulators and financial institutions to add new payment options and integrate Open Banking. Aside from traditional retailers and marketplace, Paysafe is also supporting the crypto, gaming and betting industries with compliant payment options. Paysafe is committed to continuing to be a leader in the alternative payment space while providing new solutions as the industry evolves and supporting merchants with infrastructure needs as they enter new markets.

For more information about Latin America, please visit our website at New Payment Options in LATAM ┃Paysafe. For global solutions, please visit our website at www.paysafe.com.