International expansion is the dream of many an ecommerce merchant, but that dream can quickly turn into an ecommerce nightmare if you’re not careful. Oversights can quickly turn to obstacles when it comes to overseas expansion. Maybe your customers are complaining they aren’t receiving their product, or you’re receiving bewildering notices about unpaid taxes, or even just a high rate of abandoned conversions. A fairytale of international expansion can rapidly turn into a horror show if merchants aren’t carefully prepared to scale overseas. While launching international sites is an admirable goal, it can cost you big if you aren’t prepared.

Of course, that doesn’t mean you shouldn’t do it. It’s simply important to be prepared for what’s in store. To that end, here’s a merchant’s guide on what not to do when expanding internationally. To avoid an ecommerce nightmare, read on!

Don’t Neglect to Research Local Payment Preferences

This might seem like a no-brainer. Of course you’ll accept international credit cards, right? But a would-be international merchant should be attuned to unique regional preferences. Different countries have different payment preferences. Some regions prefer e-wallets, debit cards, mobile payments or even cash on delivery over credit cards. If your payment processor doesn’t offer customers their preferred payment method, you’ll be looking at a lot of abandoned e-shopping carts. And it’s worth understanding cross-border fees so you don’t have any nasty fiscal surprises.

Don’t Forget Local Taxes

This is one of those things that might slip through the cracks when a merchant is focused on international expansion, but it’s one of the quickest ways to create an ecommerce nightmare out of your global expansion. For example, Brazil has a staggering seven different (and cumulative) income taxes. Preventing this kind of ecommerce nightmare is as simple as consulting with local experts. Someone who can guide you through the taxes and tariffs involved in the country in question will help facilitate a smooth launch. (A good accountant or lawyer won’t hurt here either.)

Don’t Skimp on Security

International customers will already be wary of buying from a foreign merchant online. Not taking precautions against data breaches is a surefire way to drive away would-be customers — and that’s only half the battle. You have to make it clear to international customers that their data is safe. There are a few ways of doing this. One is as simple as clearly describing the data security measures in place so customers will understand how you are keeping their payment data safe. Another way to foster feelings of security in international customers is to ensure your payment page is fully integrated on your site. A seamless transaction reassures customers and will help build loyalty — a must for successful international expansion.  A good payment provider will be able to help integrate a secure payment gateway on your site.

Do Your Due Diligence

Global expansion is a great dream, but it’s one that take a lot of work to achieve successfully. A good chunk of that work should be research into your proposed market. There are plenty of local quirks that can quickly become huge stumbling blocks. Chinese websites are subject to dizzying amounts of red tape, while Latin American countries might eat up a shocking of the cost of sold merchandise with transportation costs. An ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure, and online businesses already shouldn’t take many chances. There’s no shortcut: if you want to prevent an ecommerce nightmare, do your research.

Conclusion

There’s no question that there are plenty of things that can go wrong when merchants decide to turn to international markets. However, having an ecommerce business means that this kind of expansion isn’t impossible. In fact, with diligent research, following proper procedures, and a merchant account provider that understands the challenges of international expansion, going global is more possible than ever before. Expanding abroad doesn’t have to be an ecommerce nightmare. With the right preparation – and a great payment processing partner – your dream of going global can come true

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“Philanthropist” derives from Late Latin and from Greek. A direct translation from philanthrōpos or “loving people,” Merriam-Webster defines it as “goodwill to fellow members of the human race; especially: active effort to promote human welfare.”

Nonprofit organizations are born from that love of other living beings, and the desire to improve their welfare. If your passion for a cause led you to start a nonprofit, maximizing results of online giving ranks as a top priority.

People are accustomed to making payments online for everything today, and they want charitable donations to be quick and easy too. Fortunately, today’s technologies facilitate digital donations via mobile payments and online giving websites., making it fast and easy to accept donations online.

But there’s a price to be paid by charities for this convenience due to transaction processing fees. These charges reduce the amount actually collected by a charity — a trade-off that most people don’t realize.

Let’s take a look at a few helpful tips for accepting donations online while optimizing results for your nonprofit.

Payments Industry Basics for Nonprofits

Processing payments carries a cost for all industry sectors — charities included. The first thing nonprofits should understand is that choices exist to help them accept payments online and to maximize results.

The payments ecosystem may seem complex to those not familiar with the industry. What with terminology like merchant accounts, issuing banks and acquiring banks, payment processors, payment aggregators, and other merchant service providers, how could it seem otherwise?

Don’t let either the cost or complexity of payment card acceptance stand as a barrier to your nonprofit success. Resources and budgets are tight enough.

Instead, choose a payment processing partner that specializes in working with nonprofits.  They’ll help you set up and optimize online transaction processing, and may offer payment processing at cost to qualified charities. Let the experts handle the intricacies of online payment processing for you.

Follow these keys to success:

• Choose a processor that provides the secure payment gateway needed to transfer payment information between your fundraising platform — the issuing and acquiring banks — and the processing networks.
• Ensure your processor’s gateway is PCI-DSS compliant (Payment Card Industry – Data Security Standard) — a requirement for processing online payment transactions. Maintaining PCI compliance can be burdensome to nonprofit staff, so choose to work only with a processor who handles all PCI requirements.
• Recognize that donors care about the security of their payment card data. Make website visitors comfortable by displaying information about security standards employed, so they feel comfortable sharing payment details — and become your donors.
• Accept multiple payment types. Increase your potential market to maximize your fundraising efforts. The right payment processor will help set up the ability to accept donations online via major card brands (domestic and international), multi-currency options, and alternative payment types like PayPal and others. Make it easy for potential donors to help your organization, no matter where they live.
• Easy integration with your fundraising platform or website describes the right processing solution for your nonprofit. Choose a processor that enables custom donation forms, or allows you to set up an online donation portal fitting the “look and feel” of your website. So that when you accept donations online, the processing solution facilitates an excellent customer experience and provides secure payment processing.

We hope those tips help you find a payment processing partner that you can trust, and that offers favorable rates — because that’s often the bottom line.

Charities That Accept Donations Online Make Giving Easier

Do your homework, and aspire to work with a processor that offers services at a reduced rate, while helping your nonprofit streamline processes and reduce expenses. There are processors out there who want to help nonprofits thrive in the competitive online world.

Yes, it does cost money to accept online donations. Flexible processing needs (like processing recurring donations and selling merchandise) can cost charities even more. But the good news is that some processors provide charitable payment processing at cost, for qualified 501(c) nonprofits.

As Melissa Johnson (writing for Merchant Maverick) points out, it is possible to qualify for charitable payment processing rates to accept donations online — simply by asking and proving non-profit 501(c) status. “Which has a positive effect on any organization’s bottom line.”

Let PayArc Reduce the Cost Footprint of Your Nonprofit

American banks and credit card companies make huge profits — in the neighborhood of $250 million a year — from processing online charitable donations. They can afford to reduce the cost burden for nonprofits.

PayArc’s program strives to do exactly that: reduce the burden on charitable organizations that accept donations online. We give them access to the lowest rates possible, and offer special processing programs that:

• Maximize non-profit donations with electronic payments made via credit cards, debit cards, and ACH/eChecks through nonprofit-hosted payment forms.
• Retain existing donors and reduce marketing costs with automated recurring donation options.
• Increase payment security through PCI-compliant payment processing solutions.

PayArc provides charitable payment processing at cost, for qualified 501(c) nonprofits. Explore working with us, and we’ll use our payments industry expertise to offer amazing pricing to your qualified charity.

Because we’d love to help.

Running a natural products store online can be highly profitable due to the growing consumer interest in organic food and beverage items, as well as supplements. The U.S. Natural and Organic Product Industry sales surged 6.5% to $207 billion in 2017, while the natural supplement market grew 6.1% to $44 billion in the U.S. over the same span, according to New Hope Network’s Nutrition Business Journal.

The number of individuals and investors opening up natural products stores is on the rise due to the high revenue opportunities that the natural and organic product space offers. Working with a reputable credit card processor can help these merchants optimize payments—and growth.

How to Get a Natural Products Store Merchant Account

Merchants in this space are well-advised to open a merchant account through a specialized payment processor that understands the industry. This requires completing a few simple steps and providing the necessary information.

Most applications for a natural products store merchant account will request that your business share a valid, government-issued ID, a bank letter or pre-printed voided check, three months of the most recent bank statements, three months of the most recent processing statements and a Social Security Number (SSN) or Employer Identification Number (EIN).

Working with a payments services provider that specializes in this niche can speed up the application process. In some cases, merchants can get approved within a matter of days. Specialized payment processors often offer one-stop solutions to help augment your payments operations, including fraud prevention, risk mitigation, and PCI compliance. This is to the merchant’s benefit as they have one resource to help manage and lower chargebacks, protect customers’ sensitive data and receive advice on streamlining payments.

Managing Chargebacks Natural Products Stores

Like most online businesses, natural products stores are not immune to the chargeback problem. In some cases, customers have buyer’s remorse, blaming the merchant for how supplements or other natural products that seemingly didn’t work. These disputes snowball into chargebacks, costing the merchant dearly in fines, fees, and penalties.

Many online shops offer free trials to customers as a way to let people try their natural products, risk-free. This is a handy marketing tool; however, it can also cause an increase in chargebacks. Without excellent communication about the terms of a free trial, customers can become confused about payment conditions—or simply forget about their purchase—and dispute the charges later on. It is imperative for natural product store merchants running free trials to provide email confirmations, email reminders, and other information on the website so that customers have the right information.

Optimize Your Site — and Your Brand Story

In an industry as competitive as the natural products business, you’ll need to develop a brand, website and line of products that are unique. Don’t try to carry every natural supplement or vitamin available simply to follow industry fads; quality always trumps quantity.

Be straightforward in your advertising. Maintain high standards and carry products that you know will help customers. Use a marketing approach with long-term goals in mind. Build your business as a farmer rather than a hunter, with a focus on harvesting a long-term relationships with customers rather than shooting for quick sales with customers who won’t return.

Avoid misinformation and clearly articulate the benefits of the products you offer. Where possible, reference industry experts that can back claims and provide additional guidance. Educating your customer base can add to your appeal and it also helps customers feel secure in what they are purchasing from your brand.

Another way to bolster trust is to ensure that your brand experience remains consistent from the home page through product pages and all the way to the end of the payments process. Checkout pages or portals that veer from the regular branding can cause confusion and distrust among consumers.

Follow up online sales with a branded confirmation email that includes a receipt for each customer’s purchase. This goes a long way in improving the customer experience, and also provides a way for customers to get in touch if they have a question or an issues. The more you communicate with your customers, the less likely it is that disputes will arise and snowball into costly chargebacks.

Conclusion

PayArc offers comprehensive payment processing services, which include a PCI compliant payment gateway, mobile payment processing solutions easy integration of your online systems with our full API and SDK.

Ecommerce merchants choose their industry sectors for many reasons. That’s half the fun of coming up with, and executing on, a business idea.

Sometimes your choice furthers a life-long passion, while other times it’s as simple as recognizing and filling a market need. Being first off-the-block is often a winning strategy for a sprint, but not so much in a marathon.

Of course, meeting market needs in the long-term isn’t really a simple affair. Long-term business viability falls more into the marathon category. What’s required are several layers of expertise — Some related to the chosen product or service, along with know-how in managing your business.

For example, a passion for healthy eating and good cooking may lead you to open a meal prep business. You’ll love the first stage, when serving delicious and nutritious food made with your own hands proves super-rewarding.

But for how long will that “hands-on” approach serve the business well, given your ambitions and the blossoming market in your chosen niche?

As your business grows, reaching out to others who possess the knowledge and skills — the expertise — you need isn’t always easy. But it might be the best option to support the growth ambitions you harbor.

Using the meal prep sector as a proxy for all ecommerce shops, let’s take a look at an example of tough decisions one merchant made while managing business growth. The business lessons demonstrated in the story remain universal, proving useful to all ambitious ecommerce merchants.

Another lesson to consider while in the growth phase of your business: Leveraging expert payment solutions helps online shops grow.

True Rapid Growth Story Shares Lessons for All

Business principles remain true for all merchants, regardless of the chosen sector. eCommerce may be relatively new, but the quest to launch and grow a business persists in all industries. Like the story of a couple whose meal prep business growth lessons will resonate with all small business owners.

Danielle Hrzic told the story to HuffPost. The Hrzics built a meal prep business to improve the quality of school lunches available in Chicago. Gourmet Gorilla began by producing meals and snacks for three area schools. Now they serve schools throughout Northern Illinois and Wisconsin.

As more schools and parents joined the service, the business outgrew their initial kitchen space, and also the ability for the Hrzics to remain “hands-on” with meal production. As Hrzic says, “Small business owners often feel the need to be a part of every aspect of the business.” Letting go can be hard.

But Danielle learned that she had to pull herself away from the business, “…to work on it instead of in it” — and the business expanded rapidly.

Merchants keen to launch their own payment prep businesses will find useful information on the sector here, including info on the types of expert payment solutions needed in the sector.

Become Expert on Business Growth

It’s one thing to work in a business, and quite another to own and manage one. Launching and running an ecommerce business, regardless of sector, takes a lot of energy and passion for what you do.

Some online merchants open up shop following business careers, but many don’t have the first clue about doing the books, ordering and managing inventory, or supervising employees. And without stellar funding and steady cash flow, hiring the expertise just isn’t possible.

Do you know about the standard business growth curve? From start-up to survival to success at various levels, and all the way up to mega-successful large corporations — five growth stages get you there.

Start-ups challenge even the best and brightest new merchants. Passion for your business only takes you so far, when cash flow makes or breaks the business. It’s financial survival that moves the company up the curve. And expert payment solutions help ensure financial success.

Reaching out to experts to help your company grow — and letting go when necessary — reflect mature resolve as an owner. Our featured story didn’t highlight payments, but it’s clear that selling to schools requires B2B payments expertise, and directly to parents means B2C payments.

Do other eCommerce merchants know enough about payments, to get past start-up and survival, then on to success? Like why a landing a merchant account reflects your best interests, and how to protect your payments from fraud? If not, payments may be an area in need of expert assistance.

Expert Payment Solutions Help eCommerce Shops Grow

No matter where your business falls on the growth curve, you need expert payment solutions to help you grow. To find payment solutions that will both save your money and give you peace of mind, look no further than PayArc.

Our mission is to bridge the gap between online merchants and payment solutions — for all types and sizes of merchants.

PayArc’s industry leading payment processing solution gives you all the tools you need to start accepting payments online, while lowering your risk to fraud and giving you some of the lowest rates in the industry.

We leverage strong industry relationships — developed over decades in the payments industry — to help you land an individual merchant account so you can start processing payments quickly and securely.

Take the headache out of credit card processing, so you can process with confidence. PayArc wants to act as your payments advisor and consultant, not only your processor.

You have a business to run. Our business is to help you run it better.

Give us a shout today.