Insights from The Fold: navigating cross-border payments and catering to the evolving preferences of a global clientele

In the broader context of global ecommerce, what challenges has The Fold encountered in managing cross-border payments, and how have these challenges influenced your strategic approach?

Realising the huge potential of global D2C ecommerce, we found that the biggest challenge was providing international customers with a convenient shopping experience that instils confidence and trust. 

Enabling clients to pay with their preferred payment methods, which vary from market to market, is crucial for reinforcing shopper confidence and increasing conversion rates. In many markets, these are even more important than credit cards. For instance, in the Netherlands, 75% of our customers choose to pay with an alternative payment method, and our conversion rate in the market increased by 74% YoYsince launching our enhanced localised ecommerce experience. 

Another challenge is maximising international acceptance rates and reducing fraud hazards. We overcame these challenges by partnering with an ecommerce solution provider that handles all aspects of our international ecommerce, giving us a simple and cost-effective solution, which has helped us to significantly boost our international revenue. 

Given your commitment to sourcing fabrics from European mills, how do you navigate cross-border payment challenges when dealing with suppliers in different countries? 

The Fold do not currently incur any notable cross-border payment challenges. Preferential origin procedures are managed internally to identify whether import duty is payable in advance of agreeing to the sale of goods. Trading terms are consistently FCA, meaning import VATis accounted for by The Fold. The majority of transactions are between long-term suppliers, where workable credit terms are already established. 

How does The Fold utilise data from cross-border transactions to better cater to the evolving preferences of its global clientele? 

As a growth-driven business, data-backed insights are an important tool, helping us to expand our international ecommerce D2C business. In addition to the data gathered from our international transactions, our cross-border partner, Global-e, provides us with broader local market insights, industry benchmarks, and market trend analyses. 

Together, these data-backed insights allow us to meet the evolving expectations of our audience and react quickly to changing consumer sentiment, setting the optimal proposition per market, including shipping options and rates, tax and duty solutions, and more. This also enables us to make informed business decisions, pinpoint and maximise new opportunities and potential revenue streams, and scale globally with efficiency.

This editorial piece was first published in The Paypers' Cross-Border Payments and Ecommerce Report 2023–2024, which taps into the fast-growing cross-border market and provides a comprehensive overview of trends and developments that are pivotal in this space, being the ultimate source of information for ecommerce businesses interested in expanding globally.  

Kelsey Fahy, Commercial Director, The Fold