Our client, Nexi Group, which manages two million merchants in more than 25 countries, describes its business as: ‘European by scale, local by nature’. It captures two expectations that large cross-border acquirers must fulfill. Beyond scalability, their processing platform must support the diversity of local requirements across all business geographies.
But how can acquirers ensure a personalised experience for each merchant, while increasing the profitability of their portfolio? We have analysed the best practices of companies relying on OpenWay’s Way4 Acquiring software platform, including global ecommerce processors Shift4 and DNA Payments, pan-European paytech Nexi, pan-African player Equity Bank Group, Halyk Bank, and other innovators.
We see leading cross-border acquirers aligning well with Gartner’s 2023 list of top technology trends for payments. Although the retail CBDC is recommended for preliminary assessment, it is already live for select players. In 2023, Halyk Bank, the pioneer of QR payments for SMEs across Central Asia, became an early-bird acquirer of Eurasia’s first CBDC cards.
AI-based fraud prevention is being adopted across multiple geographies and scenarios. Nexi has integrated machine learning into its core operations, while Network International has selected Mastercard’s Brighterion platform. To maximise the benefits of this trend, Way4 can exchange consolidated, comprehensive transaction data with the AI engine in real-time, helping AI to improve its detection algorithms and reduces false positives. If a newly calculated risk score is sent back to the processing platform, authorisation scenarios are adjusted instantly.
Personalised payment acceptance cost is a strong competitive advantage, but expectations vary from region to region and even between merchants in the same country. Some prefer the transparent interchange ‘++’ markups, while others choose the blended pricing for more predictable monthly costs.
In addition to supporting both models, acquirers offer other pricing incentives. High-volume retailers appreciate dynamic discounts, where their MSC rate is lowered instantly, as soon as their volumes surpass a predefined threshold. For the merchants generating multi-currency transactions, the acquirer can offer to split the markup on FX conversion rates.
Among merchants surveyed by McKinsey, 31% expressed readiness to pay for payroll solutions and access to borrowing. Acquirers can introduce these value-added services while keeping TCO low if their infrastructure has pre-integrated modules for card issuing, BNPL, and merchant financing. Those who support multi-currency ATM acquiring generate revenue by placing ATMs in their merchants’ locations frequented by tourists.
Interestingly, Equity Bank Group, who was the world’s first ATM acquirer of M-PESA, today also supports Western Union remittances on ATMs.
One of our clients, a payment facilitator operating in 190 countries says that in Hong Kong they operate with a money service operator licence. In Japan, they use a funds transfer service provider license, while in Europe they rely on an e-money institution licence, which also incorporates payment services. In the US, they use an MSB.
Such acquirers leverage OpenWay’s Way4 service to configure and automate country-specific steps and rules. During each transaction the platform analyses data, both real-time and historical to apply optimal scenarios and stay compliant. For example, in some European countries it is mandatory to check if a P2P sender or recipient belongs to a fraud database maintained by the regulator. When a match is found, the transaction should be immediately declined.
Jean-Philippe Wolyniec is the Regional Director of Business Development in French-speaking countries and Europe at OpenWay, the top-rated vendor of Way4, a digital payment software platform. With over 17 years of experience in payments and smart cards, he has actively collaborated with major banks, MNOs and retailers, also payment and public transport industry stakeholders, to launch innovative services and engineer sales strategies.
Lana Konakova is OpenWay’s Global Product Marketing Manager who oversees go-to-market strategies to launch new digital payments solutions and projects in global markets. Based in Canada, she also manages OpenWay’s marketing activities in North America, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Lana has 20 years of B2B marketing and communications experience, specialising in payment processing and ecommerce. Earlier in her career, she worked on a team that developed one of the first global ecommerce software platforms.
OpenWay provides the Way4 digital payments software platform for tier-1, mid-size, and startup players – including card issuers, acquirers, processors, telcos, payment switches, fleet companies, BNPL providers, and digital wallet providers. Gartner, Omdia, Juniper, and Aite (now Datos Insights) have ranked OpenWay as the best digital payments software provider and payment solution in the cloud.
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