Moneybookers: Worldwide direct payments made easy

October 13, 2008

At the Small Business 2.0 show Moneybookers presented a compelling argument as to why online sellers should consider using their services.

PayPal options

PayPal options

At the start of their talk I was wondering what they could offer that PayPal couldn’t. For sellers on eBay, PayPal is the payment system of choice (or at least the only real option) and PayPal can also be used on sellers own ecommerce sites along with a merchant card facility. Moneybookers however have a lot going for them, not least of which a promotional rate of just 0.99% until the end of March 2009.
 
The biggest advantage that I see Moneybookers having over PayPal isn’t simply their rates (and for larger merchants they will negotiate a custom package), but in the flexibility of payment options for buyers. Although they offer an eWallet option buyers don’t need to explicitly register for a Moneybookers account to transact, with sellers offering direct payments they can use simply use their payment method of choice.
 
Moneybookers options

Moneybookers options

It’s often been said that the more payment options you offer a buyer the less the likelyhood of an abandoned shopping cart, and Moneybookers accept considerably more payment options than their competitors. In the UK that’s not really an issue as Visa and Mastercard are the defacto payment standards but as sellers expand into Europe and the rest of the world it becomes increasingly important to offer local payment options.
 
Whether it be Carte Bleue in France, Laser in Ireland, or one of the 24 versions of direct debit in Poland, Moneybookers will allow your buyers to pay you using their payment method of choice. Buyers can choose domestic bank transfer, credit/debit card or cheque and being able to pay with their customary payment option it’s one more reason for them to purchase from your site. Moneybookers enable payments from 200 countries in 34 currencies, using 50 payment options but with just 1 connection.
 
If you sell on your own website and want to make it easy for buyers worldwide to pay Moneybookers are well worth considering. Many sellers already offer a choice of PayPal or Google Checkout alongside a card facility with a merchant provider. Moneybookers replace a merchant banking facility enabling payments in multiple currencies and multiple payment methods in a single solution. Moneybookers can also be accepted on eBay and is approved under the accepted payment policy.
 
It’s all about making it easy for the buyer - if you accept their currency and their local banking facilities it can make the difference between them completing checkout or losing the sale.

Written by Chris Dawson · Filed Under News | 6 Comments