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Alternative payment methods (APMs) such as borderless™ are gaining traction around the world. Why are individuals and businesses moving away from traditional methods of payment, and what are the potential benefits of doing so with a service like borderless™? Read on to find out!

What is an APM?

An alternative payment method is any form of payment other than traditional payment methods (cash, checks, or a credit/debit card issued by a major bank).

Some examples of common APMs are mobile payments, eWallets, cryptocurrency, prepaid cards, and direct debit bank transfers.

Why Are Alternative Payment Methods (APMs) Gaining Traction?

There are many reasons why businesses should offer APMs for their customers, especially for online payments:

Increase conversion rates

• A lack of choice in payment methods may deter site visitors from becoming actual customers. When people visit your site, they may have a favorite payment method in mind. Since there are likely many options for potential customers online, if your business does not offer the desired payment method, you may lose that potential customer to a site that offers that APM. This gives businesses that employ APMs an advantage over their competitors.

Higher security

• Although card payments are the most common payment method for online transactions, they are not the most secure. Credit cards have about a 5% failure rate due to credit card expiry and cancellation, and businesses are often liable for chargebacks. APMs such as direct debit are much more secure for merchants than these traditional methods.

Adapt to an increasingly digital world

• E-commerce is becoming more and more of a presence in the global market, and this trend is only expected to continue. In 2019, e-commerce was 16.0% of the US total retail sales, up from 13.2% in 2017. As more consumers go online to make purchases, businesses need to adapt by offering APMs for consumers to more easily make payments.

Reach a global market

• Traditional payment methods like credit card or cash payments typically cater to domestic audiences, facilitated by local banks. Certain APMs, like international direct debit transfer with borderless™ enable businesses to more easily reach a global market, bringing in new potential customers and increasing revenue.

APMs, borderless™ and the Future of Payments 

In 2019, 55% of all online transactions were made with APMs. This percentage is expected to continue in the coming years. This trend is “driven by the fact that consumers are drawn to online shopping experiences that let them dictate payment choice.” Clearly, APMs are the future of online payments. 

And borderless™ is the future of APMs.

borderless™ is the only US-based local and international direct debit solution. We offer businesses and individuals an alternative payment method to accept and make payments around the world.

We leverage the advantages of the direct debit APM with our own cutting-edge technology and have improved on some of its limitations to provide a simple, secure, global payments solution. Check out our blog post about Direct Debit for a more in-depth explanation of how borderless™ works!

If you want to increase your website’s conversion rates, save money, and reach more customers internationally, then sign up for borderless™ today and experience our APM for yourself!