What Is an Escrow Service?

Escrow services allow both exporters and importers to protect a transaction by placing funds in the hands of a trusted third party that collects, holds, and disburses funds until a specified set of conditions is met by the instructions of the exporter or importer. Shipments are tracked to ensure the seller shipped, and the buyer received the merchandise.  This can be a mutually beneficial method of payment on international trade transactions. Some people use escrow services to reduce the potential risk of fraud.  When it comes to smaller size transactions (less than $5,000), typically wire transfers, credit cards, and PayPal are the most commonly used cash-in-advance payment devices that exporters use, but an escrow service can serve as an alternative option.

Here’s how it works: the importer sends the agreed purchase amount to the escrow service. After payment is verified, the exporter is instructed to ship the goods. Upon delivery, the importer has a pre-determined amount of time to inspect and accept the goods. Once accepted, the funds are released by the escrow service to the exporter. The escrow fee can either be paid in full by one party or split evenly between the exporter and the importer.

In many cases, deals just don’t happen due to a payment related “issue” – and one example might be that you, as the exporter, require payment in full and up-front but the importer is reluctant to send the money until they receive the goods. In this case, by offering escrow services, both parties can be satisfied, the payment issue is resolved, and the deal closes. Cross-border escrow services are offered by international banks and firms that specialize in escrow and other deposit and custody services. Escrow services can be a win-win for both importers and exporters who desire a cash-in-advance method of payment on smaller sized transactions.

Online Money Transfer

Transferring money online has never been easier, quicker, and safer. With just a few clicks of a mouse—or taps of your finger—you can transfer money to other people, companies, banks, merchants, and more, both locally and internationally. Online money transfer is becoming increasingly more popular because of its convenience; whereas people used to need to go to the bank or wiring office to transfer money, today all you need is access to a computer or a smartphone.

There are 4 factors that determine the fees and rates of each online money transfer:

• The company you use
• How much money you’re transferring
• Where you’re sending the money (local versus international)
• How you’re sending the money (bank account, debit card, credit card, etc.)

Online money transfer services usually have limits on how much money you can transfer at one time or in the span of a certain time period. One of the reasons for these limits is for the companies to protect themselves and keep costs down; other reasons include fraud prevention and compliance with national and international regulations.While almost every money transfer service has limits, most offer some sort of premium service for regular, verified customers that includes higher limits.

What is an international payment gateway?

A payment gateway is a tool that businesses use to confirm their customer’s card details, making them vital for offline or online companies that authorise credit/debit card payments. Even if you’ve got a payment processor and a merchant account – two of the key pieces of software that are required to process card transactions – you won’t be able to receive payment if you don’t have a payment gateway. Fortunately, many providers offer an all-in-one solution. So, what’s an international payment gateway? Simple. Businesses that take international payments will need a type of payment gateway that offers global/multi-currency payments, as well as an interface with multiple languages, otherwise known as an international payment gateway.

What is Multi-Currency Processing?

Multi-currency payment processing occurs when your business can accept credit cards from customers in foreign currencies. If your business charges customers in more than one currency (for example in US dollars and Canadian dollars) you are doing multi-currency processing.Multi-currency processing can involve a complex setup of many different billing currencies. For example, you might charge customers in USD, CAD, GBP, EUR, ZAR, AUD and NZD, which would allow you to target customers in all major English speaking countries.

How to define digital payments?

A digital payment, sometimes called an electronic payment, is the transfer of value from one payment account to another using a digital device such as a mobile phone, POS (Point of Sales) or computer, a digital channel communications such as mobile wireless data or SWIFT (Society for the Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication). This definition includes payments made with bank transfers, mobile money, and payment cards including credit, debit and prepaid cards.