PAYMENT SOLUTIONS
Claire Gates , Chief Commercial Officer at PPRO , helps us discover how local payment methods are combining to create a robust cross-border network
WRITTEN BY : WILL GIRLING
“Cross-border payments are more complex than domestic payments and because of this , involve more risk and regulation ”
CLAIRE GATES CHIEF COMMERCIAL OFFICER , PPRO
When considering the multitude of payment solutions that exist globally , one cannot help but conclude that we ’ re living at a time where consumer choice has never been greater . Hastened in part by the COVID-19 pandemic , which saw the hygiene conscious swap cash for contactless options , popular alternative payment solutions have exploded in popularity , including :
• Card-based payments
• Bank transfers completed in real-time
• Direct debits
• Mobile wallets
• Buy now , pay later
• QR codes
• Cryptocurrencies
It ’ s clear that the hegemony of cash is being toppled . In the UK , card payments accounted for 51 % of all transactions for the first time in 2019 , while the US ’ contactless usage grew 150 % between 2019 and 2020 , with 175 million cards now on the market ( according to Visa ). With new payment trends unlikely to reverse in the post-COVID world , it seems as if the change is only going to accelerate .
In this new and diverse space , there is no profit in excluding any solution from the US $ 2tn payments market . Instead of restricting options to a small handful of generic choices , could it be that enabling local methods to flourish within a global network is the ultimate method for facilitating cross-border payments that are as effortless in practice as local ?
Claire Gates ( CG ), Chief Commercial Officer at PPRO , certainly thinks so . PPRO is one of fintech ’ s most trusted providers of local payments infrastructure and a determined driver of global development .
Heading up the company ’ s sales and marketing efforts and pushing forward new commercial initiatives , it is Gates ’ responsibility to create partnerships that further PPRO ’ s own growth . Here , we ask her about the challenges of cross-border payments , the opportunities still available , and how greater financial inclusion can be achieved .
fintechmagazine . com 81