Camel Financial, a cross-border fintech company and the financial arm of DHgate, is now processing online payments in Latin America with Ebanx, a global fintech company with Latin American DNA that offers local payment solutions from the region to international websites.
This partnership enables DHgate, a global ecommerce giant that sells to 222 countries, to accept over 100 local payment methods from Brazil, Mexico, Argentina, Colombia, Chile, Peru, and Ecuador.
Businesses and people from these seven nations are now able to pay for their online purchases on DHgate's website using local payment methods like cash vouchers, bank transfers, local debit and credit cards (that can only process local currencies), and other alternative payment methods. "With an impressive growth pace, Latin America is a key-market for Camel Financial and DHgate's global strategy. Our goal with the acceptance of local payment methods is to offer an even better user experience for our customers in the region and to boost our already strong presence within these nations", said Carson Huang Mihan, CEO of Camel Financial. "EBANX is very important in this strategy, for it gives the expertise, solutions, and backup needed for outstanding payment and customer experiences", Carson completes.
For EBANX, this partnership means the continuity of its purpose, which is to bridge the gap between Latin Americans and the best global products and services available. "We are very proud to be processing payments for DHgate, one of the most important ecommerce merchants in the World. This means that even more people in Latin America will be able to access all DHgate has to offer", said Alphonse Voigt, co-founder and CEO of EBANX.
The importance of local payment methods in Latin America
In Latin America, 49 percent of the adult population is unbanked, according to the World Bank's data. This means that almost half of the economically active population in the region have no access to financial services and products such as a credit card, either local or international (that can process foreign currencies). This is one of the reasons why local payment methods are used by many.
Around 126 million people are unbanked in Brazil, Mexico, and Argentina. There are more unbanked adults in these three Latin American countries alone than there are people in England, Ireland, and Italy combined. It is a considerable amount of potential customers that foreign ecommerce merchants cannot reach unless they offer local payment methods.
Not to mention people that do have access to financial services and products, but choose to pay for online purchases using cash methods, for instance. Such fact was observed in a research conducted by EBANX in 2017: 71% of people that paid their international online purchases using boleto bancário, a very traditional Brazilian cash voucher, had at least one checking account.
Considering these numbers, it is easy to see why international ecommerce merchants decide to go beyond and accept more than international credit cards in Latin America. To these merchants, accepting boleto bancário in Brazil, OXXO voucher in Mexico, Vía Baloto in Colombia, cupón de pago in Argentina, and other methods means reaching all their potential consumers in the region – even the unbanked ones – and offering a better purchasing experience.