More and more customers are looking for digital payment solutions that allow them to send money without using banks, which opens up a golden opportunity for your business. Here we tell you about the preferences of Latin American people when it comes to choosing cross-border payment services and why you should take them into account.
The financial system is changing the way it works rapidly. On the one hand, this change is due to the advance of technology, which makes it possible to offer a wider range of payment methods. On the other hand, the system has to address the needs of the people who want to make 100% digital transactions in connection with mass consumption, e-commerce, B2B or, particularly, remittances.
Cross-border payment platforms such as Remitee Business are making the market more competitive since they offer faster and cheaper services to users. This innovative technology allows the large population of emigrants living in other countries to send money to their families in their homeland in an easy, secure and convenient way. However, it also benefits remittance companies, which can expand their business in a constantly growing market.
How can you have better opportunities in this market?
First of all, you need to know your customers and their preferences very well.
The Latin American Market: Who Are (or Could Be) Your Customers?
Latin America is one of the most active remittance markets, which has even grown by 6.5% in the pandemic. This is due to the large emigrant population in the region. According to the United Nations Development Programme, the Latin American emigrant population increased by 26% between 2010 and 2019. Around 42.7 million people have emigrated to other countries, particularly from Venezuela, Brazil, and Colombia, which are the homelands of 55% of the Latin American emigrant population.
Their main destination is the United States ––a country chosen by 68% of emigrants, according to the United Nations. Not surprisingly, it is the top remittance-sending country, accounting for 10% of all remittances sent in 2019. Europe ––and Spain in particular–– is also frequently chosen by these people. In 2020, its Latin American population, mainly from South America, reached 4.1 million.
Intraregional migration, that is, within the same continent, has also increased and is becoming a trend. According to the International Organization for Migration (IOM), the main Latin American countries chosen by emigrants from the region are Argentina, Chile and Brazil. These countries are chosen even by emigrants from all over the world.
People who emigrate are always looking for new, fast, and secure ways of sending money to their families, and banks are not an option for them.
Various Payment Methods to Address Particular Needs
Thanks to the advance of new technologies and digitization, there are many cross-border payment solutions available, even though not all of them suit the customers’ particular needs.
Bank transfers and payments with debit or credit cards are the most conventional methods to send money abroad. However, apart from the long delays, endless paperwork, and high fees, operating in the SWIFT network requires that both the sender and the receiver have a bank account. In Latin America, where only 55% of the population has a bank account, this method has achieved limited market penetration.
The most common alternative for sending money abroad has traditionally been postal orders. However, as a result of the pandemic, this method became less popular while the popularity of digital and mobile solutions increased exponentially.
There is an alternative that is revolutionizing payment methods: digital wallets ––100% digital accounts that operate through online payment systems and offer a digital alternative to traditional payment methods, avoiding intermediaries.
This method makes payments secure and accessible to everyone ––even to those who do not have a bank account–– and eliminates the need to carry cash.
Your Opportunity to Offer A Wider Range of Payment Services
Depending on the customers’ location, payment methods change as well as customers’ preferences. For example, in Latin America, customers prefer to use payment services that guarantee their information is protected and choose digital methods outside the banking system to send and receive payments. In the United States, on the other hand, people usually use credit cards, but both digital services to send money and electronic wallets are becoming more popular. As for Europe, although there are great business opportunities related to digital payments, people choose to make bank transfers on their banks’ websites or apps.
What can you do if you have customers living in different countries who have different payment preferences? And if your customers living in the United States or Spain want to send money to their families in Latin America? How can you take advantage of the tremendous opportunities each regional market offers in relation to cross-border payments?
The answer is to offer a wider range of payment services.
To do that, you have to provide your customers with payment services that are flexible, secure, reliable and easy to use.
- Flexible: so that your customers can send and receive money wherever they are, without a hitch.
- Secure: using an identity verification system to ease the payment process.
- Reliable and Easy to Use: avoiding intermediaries, making processes simpler and offering new payment methods beyond the limits of the banking system but still as reliable as the conventional options.
The best way to offer this wide range of payment services is by integrating with a multi-purpose digital platform for cross-border payments. The platform you need is Remitee Business.
Remitee Business: The Perfect Solution for You
By using Remitee Business, your customers will be able to make money transfers and settlements, phone top-ups, and real-time payments to many countries using only one connection. This is a fast, secure, and reliable way to operate in the Latin American remittance market, providing your customers with a service that suits their needs and preferences, without delay, intermediaries and bank accounts.
We offer the services your customers want and need. That is why we are the perfect cross-border payment solution.
Contact us or arrange a meeting right now. We want to be your partner on this journey beyond the borders.