Gain international customers with the right payment methods
Swiss quality products are in demand, especially among customers from Europe and the USA. But to win international customers, a good product alone is not enough: the payment process also has to be right. In this article, you will find out which payment methods are indispensable in checkout – and how you can offer them very easily with Payrexx.
Sheila
Matti
In E-commerce, more than ever, the following applies: The world is coming together. For Swiss online retailers, there is great sales potential abroad. According to the online platform Webinterpret, as many as 45 percent of people in the US shop cross-border regularly. And the European market is even closer.
Anyone who wants to reach buyers beyond national borders must know what they want – and in particular, how they want to pay. The right selection of payment methods at checkout is crucial so that the purchase does not already end in the shopping cart. The Statista study "E-commerce Checkout Behavior" (2024) shows that 17 percent of all online purchases are abandoned because the preferred payment method was not available. With Payrexx, this can be avoided very easily.
Below, we show you which payment methods are particularly important in Europe, America, and Asia – and how you can easily integrate them into your checkout with Payrexx.
Credit cards: More reach with the Discover® Network
Anyone who wants to sell internationally should think beyond the usual options when it comes to credit cards. Depending on lifestyle, alternatives to Visa and Mastercard offer important advantages. The Discover® Network, for example, is aimed especially at frequent travelers: cardholders benefit from fee-free currency exchange, cashback programs, as well as the possibility to collect points and rewards.
In addition, the Discover® Network is represented in over 185 countries and regions¹ – thanks to numerous connected national card systems. Anyone who accepts this payment method in their online shop gains access to over 378 million cardholders² worldwide.
¹ Discover internal transaction data 2024 ² The total number of cards includes active cards in the Discover Network, DCI, and network alliances. Based on information from network participants and RBR Data Services, published in 2024.
Through the close partnership with the Discover Network, you can seamlessly integrate its entire world of cards with Payrexx. Since 2024, both the Discover® Network Card and Diners Club International® have been part of Payrexx Pay Plus, the payment service for merchants with international clientele. With these two payment methods, you can also accept other cards, such as Elo (Brazil), TROY (Turkey), or RuPay (India).
Digital wallets: PayPal and its international significance
Studies clearly show: PayPal is one of the most popular payment methods in international e-commerce. In Germany, according to a Statista survey (2023), 64 percent of online shoppers prefer to pay with PayPal. In England, according to ECDB (2024)⁶, it is as much as 82 percent, and in France still 57 percent, according to a survey by the payment provider mollie.
The mobile wallet scores particularly in terms of security and convenience: buyers can easily save their credit and debit cards and then pay with just a few clicks. PayPal is particularly popular online, because Inicio de sesión – once saved – can be used with low barriers and without a complex sign-up process. A flexibility from which your online shop also benefits.
To make it even easier for you to use PayPal, the integration with Payrexx was optimized last year. You can now create a new PayPal account directly through your Payrexx account and connect it seamlessly to your shop. PayPal will then be automatically displayed in the checkout – and your customers can pay with it worldwide.
Mobile wallets: More than just Google Pay or Apple Pay
Nowadays, the smartphone has become an indispensable companion. This makes it all the more sensible to enable buyers from all over the world to pay directly with their mobile phone, whether online or on site. Mobile wallets have gained significant importance in recent years. According to the Online Retailer Survey 2024 by ZHAW and FHNW, 24 percent of Swiss Comerciante:innen now offer Apple Pay. Google Pay stands at 21 percent, with an upward trend.
If you want to offer Google Pay, Apple Pay, or Samsung Pay with Payrexx, you can do so with just a few clicks. All three payment methods are fully integrated into the Payrexx Pay payment service. After verifying your account, you can activate them directly and have them displayed in the checkout.
Anyone who also wants to serve the Asian market should not forget Alipay and WeChat Pay in checkout. Both are considered indispensable for customers from this region of the world. Alipay is used regularly in China by around 93 percent of the population, both online and in brick-and-mortar retail. This is shown by an infographic by Statista from 2021.
WeChat Pay is also one of the most widely used mobile payment solutions in Asia. The app allows users to send money directly to one another and thus works similarly to Swiss TWINT. According to an article by Marketingblatt, in 2023 more than 1.3 billion people in China actively used the application. WeChat Pay is also available in 69 countries and regions, including Germany and Switzerland.
Alipay and WeChat Pay can be integrated directly via Payrexx. Both are part of the Payrexx Pay Plus payment service, which was specifically developed for international trade. After verifying your account, you can activate these and many other global payment methods with just a few clicks.
Instant Payment: Let customers pay directly with Pay by Bank
Relatively new and yet a must, especially in the D-A-CH region, is the so-called real-time transfer via bank account. Also known as Instant Payment, customers can pay for their goods directly via their e-banking. The amount is deducted from them directly, without having to obtain a credit card or create a login. It is this simplicity that is making Instant Payment increasingly popular in Germany: in a Statista survey (2023), 25 percent of respondents described bank transfer as their preferred payment method.
With Payrexx, you can easily offer Instant Payment – without any additional registration with a third-party provider. This is made possible by the specially developed payment method Pay by Bank. It is part of the Payrexx Pay payment service and can be activated directly after your account has been verified. Customers from Germany, Austria, and Italy can thus pay conveniently via their e-banking. You benefit from fast payments and low fees.
