Creating A Seamless Checkout Process

Your bank is quietly taking 3-6% of every international payment. And calling it "standard." Here's how it works: You earn in USD. Bank converts to your home currency. Fee. You pay a supplier. Bank converts again. Another fee. Two conversions. Two cuts. Every single time. Most companies don't even notice. They just wonder why margins are tight. This is why the fastest-growing global companies stopped using traditional banks & switched to Airwallex. They switched to an infrastructure built for how money actually moves. Here's what that looks like: ➤ Your entire financial universe on one platform ↳ Business accounts ↳ Spend management ↳ Payments ↳ Billing ↳ APIs to build your own financial products Airwallex centralises what most teams spread across five different providers. ➤ Operate locally from anywhere ↳ Open local currency accounts in minutes ↳ Receive funds in 20+ currencies ↳ Avoid forced conversion fees ↳ Make high-speed transfers to 120+ countries Airwallex lets global companies work like locals without the usual banking pain. ➤ Real efficiency, not buzzwords ↳ Corporate cards issued instantly ↳ Automated workflows enhanced by AI ↳ Clean integrations with your accounting stack Hours saved each week. Less error. More clarity across the business. ➤ Aligned incentives ↳ No forced conversions ↳ No hidden FX markups ↳ You convert when YOU choose Banks profit when you convert. Airwallex profits when you grow For teams scaling fast, entering new markets, or managing multi-currency revenue, Airwallex isn’t simply a platform. It’s leverage. Because when your financial operations run at global speed, your business finally can too.

I analyzed 1,200 abandoned carts last month. The top reason people didn’t finish their order? They couldn’t picture actually getting the package. Sounds weird, but watch how this plays out: Someone adds protein powder to their cart. Then they leave. Later, they see a retargeting ad saying “Still thinking about it?” That doesn’t help. They already know what the product is. Here’s what does help: Email subject: “Your package would arrive Thursday” Body: “Your order of [Product] ships today and arrives Thursday by 8 p.m. Here’s what happens next: Today: We pack your order in Austin Tuesday: FedEx picks it up and you get your tracking number Thursday: It’s delivered to your area Friday morning: You try it for the first time Want this timeline? Finish your order in the next 4 hours.” A supplement brand tested this against their usual cart reminder emails. The usual version said: “Don’t forget your cart! Here’s 10% off.” The new version showed the delivery timeline. Here’s what happened: 3.2x higher open rate 2.7x higher conversion rate No discount needed Why did it work? Because people can picture the product. They just can’t picture it arriving, the box on their doorstep, opening it up, trying it out. Your job is to make that moment feel real. So instead of focusing on the product in your cart emails, focus on the delivery. Help people see the package showing up at their door, sitting on their counter, being used the next day. P.S. I analyzed these via inboox.ai - our soon to release AI-driven, searchable database of 1M+ real emails from the fastest-growing Shopify brands. Get on the wait list today!

6 abandoned cart email templates that actually recover revenue: Each one covers a proven angle. Rotate them in a 3-email flow or test 1:1. 1. Simple Reminder Template Subject: Still thinking it over? Why it works: - Sometimes people just forget. This is a clean, non-intrusive nudge. Best for: Loyal customers or premium brands Send in: Email 1 (1–4 hrs after cart abandonment) Copy: - You left something in your cart - We saved it for you - Complete your order anytime CTA: Return to Cart 2. Discount/Incentive Template Subject: Here’s 10% off to complete your order Why it works: - Drives action from price-sensitive customers. Creates urgency with a deal. Best for: New customers, competitive markets Send in: Email 3 (48–72 hrs after abandonment) Copy: - Still on the fence? - Use code SAVE10 at checkout - Offer expires in 24 hours CTA: Claim My Discount 3. Social Proof Template Subject: A customer favorite is waiting for you Why it works: - Highlights reviews and popularity to build trust and reduce hesitation. - Best for: High-consideration purchases or new shoppers - Send in: Email 2 (12–24 hrs after abandonment) Copy: - This item is a customer favorite - Rated 4.8/5 by thousands of buyers - Get yours before it’s gone CTA: See Reviews 4. Urgency/Scarcity Template Subject: Almost gone—don’t miss out Why it works: - Taps into FOMO. Limited stock or time-sensitive offers push action. Best for: Popular items, limited editions Send in: Use in any email for urgency layering Copy: - We can’t guarantee it’ll be here later - Only a few left in stock - Secure yours now CTA: Complete My Order 5. Personalized Recommendation Template Subject: We saved your cart (plus a few things you might like) Why it works: - Cross-sells and personalization can increase AOV and relevancy. Best for: Repeat customers, larger catalogs, data-rich brands Send in: Email 2 or 3, depending on data depth Copy: - Here’s what you left behind - Plus, these go great with it - Let us know if you have questions CTA: Return to Cart 6. Problem-Solution Template Subject: Questions about your cart? We’ve got answers Why it works: - Handles common objections like shipping, returns, or product fit. Best for: Complex products, new brands Send in: Email 2 or 3 to educate and reassure Copy: - Not sure about sizing, delivery, or returns? - Here’s what you need to know - We’re here to make it easy CTA: Read FAQs You'll want to compile these into a multi-touch email flow. Here's an actual flow example: Email 1: Simple reminder (1–4 hrs) Email 2: Social proof or problem-solution (12–24 hrs) Email 3: Incentive or founder-style plain text (48–72 hrs) Optional Email 4: Follow-up 5–7 days later

If we want real-time cross-border transactions between different currencies, two conditions must be met. First, domestic payment systems must be instant. They must allow money to be sent and received immediately. This is increasingly the case: Pix in Brazil, SEPA Instant in Europe, UPI in India. These systems are the first mile and the last mile in the chain. Next, these domestic systems must be able to communicate with each other in real time. SWIFT was not designed for instant settlement, and this is where stablecoins and blockchain come in. By enabling real-time value transfer, they act as a bridge between instant domestic systems that otherwise remain siloed. Here’s a simple example of a money transfer from Europe to India: 1/ Instant conversion of EUR to USDC via an on-ramp using SEPA Instant. 2/ Instant transfer of USDC from one wallet to another via blockchain. 3/ Instant conversion of USDC to INR via an off-ramp using IMPS. And with Triple-A, it’s even simpler. You don’t even need to convert to USDC—we handle the entire infrastructure for you to enable real-time payments between different currencies.

“70% of our marketing time is spent on recovering abandoned carts. On WhatsApp.” That was the single biggest takeaway from a customer call yesterday, for me. A French retailer selling bespoke fashion worldwide. Here’s what they told me: "WhatsApp messaging isn’t cheap. Everybody knows that. But we believe in the channel. We know it’s our best shot at being seen. At being heard. At carving a space right where our customers live, next to their friends and family.” So they stopped treating abandoned cart reminders like afterthoughts. Instead, they built campaigns that command attention. And I’ve never seen anything like them. 🔥 Campaign #1: The After-Dark Discount Window Instead of sending a routine cart reminder, they unlock a private discount window at 10 PM. Why? Because late-night browsing isn’t rational, it’s emotional. Customers who opt-in get an exclusive deal during this nocturnal shopping spree. 💰 Campaign #2: Shoppers Name Their Price They don’t shove a price at the customer. They hand over the pricing power. Shoppers reply with a price they’re willing to pay. If it falls within range, it’s approved. This campaign has the highest engagement numbers I’ve EVER seen on WhatsApp. 🎥 Campaign #3: Staff Wearing the Carted Item Forget static product images. They broadcast videos of staff members wearing the item, describing the fit and fabric. It kills doubts. It brings the product to life. It makes buying feel effortless. For every $1 spent on WhatsApp cart recovery, they make $30 back. Why? Because they treat every abandoned cart like a full-fledged marketing campaign. No lazy nudges. No generic messages. Every interaction, memorable. WhatsApp marketing is wildly profitable—if you refuse to take shortcuts

Cross-border remittances are a crucial lifeline for millions globally, but today these payments face challenges like high costs, delays, and limited access. The Digital Dollar Project, Western Union, and BDO Unibank collaborated on a pilot study simulating a CBDC-based remittance from the U.S. to the Philippines. The results show how a digital dollar could mitigate pain points in cross-border payments. Here are my key takeaways from the pilot study: 🔶 A tokenised CBDC enables instant P2P settlement, reducing risk and the need for pre-funded accounts. 🔶 Atomic transactions settle multiple currency exchanges simultaneously, optimising capital costs. 🔶 Accessibility improves with direct access to central bank money and digital wallet onboarding. 🔶 Enhanced visibility into transaction status via the shared ledger increases trust. 🔶 The pilot achieved settlement in under 10 seconds, a major efficiency gain. 🔶 Interoperability remains a key question in implementing retail CBDCs across borders. 🔶 Identity verification and transaction privacy need further examination in a CBDC context. 🔶 This pilot established foundational elements for future cross-border CBDC experimentation. So yes, CBDCs could significantly modernise cross-border remittances, improving speed, cost, access and transparency. But further research and testing needs to be done to fully evaluate a retail digital dollar's impact. #fintech #finance #CBDC #DigitalDollar #Remittances #CrossBorderPayments #FinancialInclusion

2025 Buyer’s Guide to International Payments Selecting the right cross-border payments provider requires careful evaluation across key areas to ensure compliance, efficiency, and reliability. 1. Regulation and Compliance Global payments are subject to complex regulations, making compliance a critical factor. Providers must hold the necessary licenses, such as Money Transmitter Licenses (MTLs), to legally operate in different jurisdictions. They should also streamline compliance with automated KYC checks and AML processes, reducing administrative burdens and ensuring adherence to evolving regulatory requirements. Strong compliance practices protect businesses, build trust, and enhance global reputation. 2. Currency Coverage A provider’s ability to support multiple currencies determines operational flexibility. Businesses should assess whether the provider covers their current intake and payout currency needs and offers competitive conversion rates to minimize costs. Future scalability is also important—providers should be able to support expansion into new markets, particularly emerging economies, ensuring businesses can adapt to global opportunities. 3. Service Reliability and Redundancy A robust payments infrastructure ensures uninterrupted service, preventing financial losses and operational disruptions. Providers should offer built-in redundancy, maintaining multiple banking partnerships to continue processing payments even if one fails. Strong partnership networks enhance efficiency, while disaster recovery and contingency planning ensure uptime during technical or geopolitical disruptions. 4. Ease of Technological Integration A modern payments provider should simplify, not complicate, business operations. Providers must offer flexible integration options, including both manual processes and API-based automation. Developer-friendly APIs with clear documentation and technical support facilitate seamless implementation, while customizable workflows allow businesses to tailor payment processes to their specific needs. Sandbox environments for testing further improve the onboarding experience. 5. Speed and Transparency Fast onboarding, real-time payment tracking, and clear reporting tools are essential for smooth operations. Providers should enable businesses to start transacting within hours or days rather than weeks. Payments should be trackable like a package delivery, ensuring visibility and eliminating uncertainty. Additionally, 24/7 customer support and dedicated account managers help businesses resolve issues quickly and expand their payment capabilities when needed. Source Rail #fintech #payments #banking Brice Ali Alex Michele Nafis Monica Theodora Saleh Veronica Helen

#blockchain | #cbdcs | #payments : The Practicalities of #crossborderpayments in a Faster Payments World. Changes in the World of Cross-Border Payments : (1) • Distributed Ledger Technologies (DLT) is a type of technology that enables the secure and transparent sharing of data across a distributed network. It is used to facilitate cross-border payments by providing a secure and transparent platform for the transfer of funds. There are several DLT projects being explored that can help reduce the cost and time associated with international payments, as well as reduce the risk of fraud and money laundering. Additionally, DLT can help to improve the accuracy and speed of payments, as well as provide greater transparency and traceability. Project Cedar Phase II x Ubin+ (Cedar x Ubin+)8 was a research project exploring potential improvements for multi-currency wholesale cross-border payments. The project examined whether wholesale central bank digital currencies (CBDC) developed using DLT could improve the efficiency and transparency of cross-border payments involving one or more vehicle currencies. This collaboration brought together Project Cedar of the Federal Reserve Bank of New York’s New York Innovation Center (NYIC), and Ubin+ of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS). (2) • Application Programming Interfaces ( #apis ) are a set of tools and protocols that allow applications to communicate with each other. They are used to facilitate the transfer of data between applications, allowing them to exchange information and perform tasks. API's can be used to facilitate the transfer of funds cross-border allowing for the secure transfer of data between banking systems. APIs are equipped to facilitate faster and more efficient cross-border payments as they reduce manual intervention and support a timelier data exchange across the payment chain. Payment service providers, financial institutions, and other entities in the payments ecosystem use application programming interfaces (APIs) to enhance efficiency, facilitate automation and extend payment functionality. For cross-border payments, API harmonization has the potential to improve transaction times and reduce costs (e.g., those associated with industry-wide standards). (3) • Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) are digital versions of a country’s fiat currency, issued and regulated by the country’s central bank. CBDCs can be used for cross-border payments, allowing for faster, cheaper, and more secure payments than traditional methods. As of June 2023, the Atlantic Council was monitoring CBDC initiatives in 130 countries and currency unions. This represents 98 percent of the global GDP. In July of 2023, a BIS survey showed 93 percent of Central Banks working on Digital Currencies

Average Items per Order (AIO): 30 practical ways to move it AIO sits between product choice and basket economics, and it directly lifts AOV. We mapped one of 4 drivers and its 30 tactics into a one-page cheat sheet. What actually moves AIO (ranked by influence): High: - Cross-Sell Rate - Minimum Order Threshold Medium: - Total Items (assortment breadth) - Product Availability Rate Low: - Average Reviews per Item - Average Item Rating Example plays: → Cross-sell: AI recommendations in cart/checkout, stronger complement blocks on PDPs, placement A/B tests. → Thresholds: Free shipping threshold, clear on-site banners, staff scripts for “one more item”. → Availability: Forecasting and safety stock for top SKUs, supplier reliability monitoring. → Assortment: Close obvious gaps; add seasonal or limited lines. → Reviews/Rating: Automate review asks, encourage updates after fixes, train support on quality issues. Measure impact, not motion If you work with Shopify/DTC brands, start with cross-sell and thresholds first, then fix availability. Assortment and social proof help, but they’re slower levers. 📌 Save this cheat sheet and follow me (Dmitry Nekrasov) for the next smart tips about e-commerce metrics #aov #metrics

 India is actively expanding its Free Trade Agreements (#FTAs) with key global #economies, including the #UAE, #Australia, #Japan, #South #Korea, the European Union, and the #UK. While these agreements aim to enhance bilateral trade volumes, realising their full potential hinges critically on integrating Central Bank Digital Currency (#CBDC) corridors. To maximise trade efficiency, India's FTAs should explicitly include a condition that mandates #transitioning #trade settlements to #CBDC channels, with fintech companies ideally managing these transitions to ensure #swift, #scalable, and cost-effective implementation. One of the most significant barriers currently affecting international trade efficiency is the high conversion cost incurred when transactions involve multiple #currencies. Typically, multi-currency trade—for instance, converting the Indian Rupee to the US Dollar and then to the UAE Dirham—incurs costs ranging from 3.7 percent to 8 percent of the transaction value. These costs result from multiple foreign exchange spreads, intermediary correspondent bank charges, and regulatory margins. CBDC-enabled corridors, which allow direct settlements between central banks in digital currencies, eliminate these intermediary costs, drastically reducing conversion expenses to approximately 0.1-0.2 percent. This reduction equates to substantial potential savings of 3-8 per cent per transaction. The evolving India-UAE trade relationship provides a clear illustration. Historically, India primarily conducted its oil trade with the UAE in US dollars until the onset of Russia's invasion of Ukraine in February 2022 and the subsequent exclusion of Russian banks from the SWIFT system in March 2022. The disruption led India and the UAE to rapidly transition away from dollar-based settlements, culminating in a July 2023 agreement to facilitate trade directly in Rupees and Dirhams. On August 14, 2023, India conducted its first oil transaction with the UAE in rupees. By August 2024, the Reserve Bank of India was actively encouraging banks to prioritise direct Rupee-Dirham settlements. Yet, despite bypassing the dollar, structural complexities still impose transaction costs between 3.7% and 8%. Establishing a CBDC-based corridor, ideally managed by fintech platforms, can further reduce these costs, saving India between $3.1 billion and $6.7 billion annually on its approximately $84 billion in bilateral trade with the UAE. These savings are particularly valuable in oil, petrochemicals, and fertilizer feedstock trades, which can be passed on to the consumers in India.