Two key questions to start off this post. It’s a big topic:
- If customers can browse in their language but can’t pay in their currency, what message are you sending?; and’
- Is your checkout experience helping or hurting your global growth strategy?
You’ve invested in localizing your product and marketing, but what about the moment that matters most?
Checkout.
For international customers, the point of payment is where trust is either confirmed… or broken. And three things make or break that trust:
- Currency
- Language
- Payment Experience Design
Done right, these elements don’t just reduce friction, they multiply conversion and revenue.
The Numbers Behind a Localized Checkout Experience
Let’s put some data behind this:
- 92% of global shoppers prefer to pay in their local currency. (Shopify)
- 74% say they’re more likely to trust a brand if checkout is in their native language. (Fintech Nexus)
- Poor localization contributes to a 13% increase in cart abandonment. (Baymard Institute)
A checkout flow that isn’t adapted to your customer’s region or language is more than inconvenient, it’s a signal that they’re not your priority.
What “Localized” Payments Really Mean
A truly localized payment experience includes:
- Displaying prices in local currency
- Offering relevant payment methods that optimize FX
- Translating checkout and payment confirmation pages
- Supporting local tax and regulatory requirements
- Presenting UX/UI that’s intuitive in the local context
It’s about more than translation. It’s about transformation, adapting the payment flow to feel like it was built for that market.
Currency Confidence = Conversion Confidence
Imagine browsing a website in English, selecting products priced in USD, and then reaching a payment page that suddenly switches to euros or requires a bank you don’t use.
It feels unprofessional. Unfamiliar. Risky.
Now flip that, and imagine seeing a familiar currency, a local bank, and instructions in your own language.
The difference? Confidence.
How many conversions are you losing by not aligning currency, language, and experience with your customer’s expectations?
MassPay helps enterprise finance teams localize every aspect of their payment experience, from checkout to settlement, across 175+ countries.
Let’s build a payment strategy that feels local, everywhere you operate.
Chris Rechtsteiner : May 2, 2023 9:25:00 AM
