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Offshore Merchant Account:  Six Benefits

 

An offshore merchant account has an acquiring bank located in a jurisdiction unlike from a company’s original incorporation domicile.   For example, if an US company processes payments through an European acquiring bank, the European account is considered an offshore merchant account for the US corporation. 

 

Benefits of an Offshore Merchant Account

 

For companies with international buyers, an offshore merchant account is simply makes good business sense.  As domestic markets become saturated or businesses seek to expand, international ecommerce is the obvious solution.  A merchant account offshore helps companies increase sales, decrease operating expenses, deduce new revenues from buyers throughout the world.   

 

A merchant account offshore can include local payment options for in addition to card processing.  For example, in many parts of the world, bank transfers are used more frequently than card payments when making purchases online.  An offshore merchant account that offers both card payments and international bank transfers will increase the number of potential buyers, ultimately increasing sales and profits.

 

An offshore merchant account includes multi-currency payment processing.  Offering payments in local currency is one of the easiest ways to get more sales from external buyers.  Shoppers desire to see prices displayed in familiar local currency.  Smart business owners will keep the buyer focused on making a purchase rather than being concerned about foreign currency conversions.   Presenting pricing in local currency encourages trust in the merchant and increasing the likelihood that a shopper will become a buyer.  

 

An offshore merchant account saves businesses money on payment processing fees by taking advantage of interchange rates specific to various regions.  For international ecommerce companies, having an offshore merchant account in every region in which business is conducted enables transactions within those regions to be processed at lower rates than cross-border transactions.  For example, interchange rates in Europe are lower than US interchange rates.   For this reason, it is wise for an US company to establish an offshore merchant account to processing European transactions.  

 

In addition to lowering cross-border payment processing fees, an offshore merchant account helps companies eliminate costly foreign exchange expenses.   Expensive currency conversion fees can be avoided by using settlement funds to the offshore merchant account to pay are vendors or expenses in the localized region. For example, if the acquiring bank for an offshore merchant account is based in Europe, an international ecommerce tautened can pay all their European operational expenses in euros and save money on foreign exchange.

 

An offshore merchant account is a part of strategic  international ecommerce strategies.  For example, certain jurisdictions offer businesses favorable conditions or are more open to particular business types.  International ecommerce companies that want to establish an offshore merchant account offshore should seek advice from business advisers regarding advantages of various jurisdictions.  

 

Interested in an offshore merchant account?  Contact info@merchantaccountsoffshore.co.uk today.