Boost Sales by Offering Alternative Payment Options Allow your customers to use alternative payments and watch your revenue grow According to a study by WorldPay, alternative payments are expected to exceed credit card payments by 2017. Alternative payments include any type of payment that is used instead of paying with a credit card. More and more customers want to pay online using something other than a credit card, which is especially true for global customers. The key to being successful in global ecommerce is to be flexible and offer numerous options, especially when it comes to payment. Why Offer Alternative Payments? WorldPay found that 82 percent of online customers favored having a wide selection of different payment options instead of just paying with a credit card. By allowing people to pay with whatever form of payment they want to use, you are increasing the likelihood of completing that sale and the potential for future purchases from that same customer. While most people in the United States are comfortably using credit cards to make online purchases, this is not true for many other countries. Offering the option of alternative payments allows your customer to use whichever payment method he or she is most comfortable using. Credit Card: No Longer King? While using credit cards to purchase goods online is quite common for people who live in the United States, it is not as common in other countries. According to Nexcess, credit cards were only used for 20 percent of online sales in Germany. Customers are also becoming increasing concerned with credit card security. WorldPay found that credit card payments are expected to decline from 57 percent in 2012 to 41 percent of all online payments in 2017. Alternative payments are expected to grow to 59 percent of online payments in 2017. Other Types of Payments Customers from different countries and regions prefer using different types of payments. Most want to use the payment method that they are most comfortable with and feel most secure using. AliPay is extremely popular in China and should be offered if your ecommerce company is looking to increase sales to customers in China. Konbini is an alternative payment method in Japan that should be offered by ecommerce businesses looking to expand there. Most countries in Africa each have their own forms of alternative payments. In the Netherlands, the majority of sales transactions are completed through iDeal, which is an online payment method. Other alternative payment methods include PayPal, Bit Coin, bank transfers, and even cash upon delivery of goods. The key takeaway is to research the payment methods used by the region in which you want to expand your global ecommerce store. This in turn will allow you to be ready to offer the type of alternative payment methods that your customers will want to use. Clarity Can Help Clarity has helped numerous clients accept alternative payment methods through their ecommerce site. Our team is skilled at building websites that allow global ecommerce stores to accept numerous forms of payments for their goods. To find out more about how Clarity can help your business start taking alternative payments, call or click to contact us today!