A business guide for cross-border payments for eCommerce platforms

Cross-border eCommerce has become a key growth strategy for many businesses. Choosing the right eCommerce platform is no longer just about website templates or marketing tools – it directly affects how efficiently you operate globally and your profit margins. How your business collects payments, handles currency exchange, manages payouts, and operates as if local in each market determines your success abroad. This guide focuses on global operations and provides a practical framework to evaluate eCommerce platforms and financial solutions such as Airwallex.

Why eCommerce platforms are central to global financial operations

Modern eCommerce platforms are more than storefronts. They must handle multi-currency payments, flexible currency conversion, fast payouts, centralised cash management, and provide detailed analytics for operational decision-making.

Three core capabilities are essential:

• Front-end sales performance: Platforms need to support multiple languages, localised pricing, and optimise conversion rates. Language, price, and the checkout process influence consumer decisions strongly, so front-end performance directly impacts revenue.

• Back-end financial efficiency: Multi-currency payments, exchange management, and centralised fund control help businesses reduce fees and currency losses while improving cash flow, enabling operations as if local.

• Data-driven insights: Metrics such as conversion rates, payment failures, refunds, chargebacks, payment preferences, and exchange rate impact allow businesses to measure true profitability and refine strategies.

When selecting a platform, businesses should prioritise transparent exchange rates and fees, support for local payment methods in key markets, and multi-currency accounts.

Types of eCommerce platforms

eCommerce platforms generally fall into three categories:

• SaaS storefronts – Platforms such as Shopify or BigCommerce offer fast setup and standardised tools. Cross-border expansion often relies on third-party payment providers, which reduces control over fees and currency conversion. Reconciliation across multiple countries is fragmented, extending month-end processes.

• Marketplace platforms – Platforms such as Amazon or eBay bring large traffic volumes but offer limited control over payments. Payouts, exchange rates, and fees are dictated by the marketplace, which can result in forced currency conversion, delayed payouts, and opaque costs.

• Platform-based eCommerce – Businesses that operate as platforms serve sellers, suppliers, or creators and integrate financial workflows into the product experience. This includes setting up merchant accounts, completing compliance checks, managing collections and revenue sharing, supporting multi-currency transactions, and issuing cards at scale for procurement, marketing, or operational costs. Centralising cash flow helps maintain financial control while scaling operations.

Common challenges in cross-border cash flow

Cross-border cash flow introduces complexity in cost, operations, and compliance. Different markets use different currencies and payment methods, often requiring passive currency conversion that incurs high fees. Fund transfers can take one to two weeks, creating cash flow pressure for inventory, marketing, or supplier payments.

Compliance requirements vary by region. Delays in verification or anti-money-laundering checks can freeze accounts or prevent payments. Managing multiple currencies, fees, and channels complicates reconciliation and extends month-end processes, limiting visibility into cash positions.

Without data on payment failures, refunds, chargebacks, payment preferences, or exchange impacts, businesses cannot effectively optimise conversions, control costs, or adapt market strategies. The key challenge is managing global funds efficiently, at low cost, and in compliance, while using data to drive stable international growth.

Assessing a platform’s global payment capabilities

Four key areas should guide evaluation:

• Global collection: Can the platform provide local accounts in key markets and support same-currency settlements to reduce forced conversion costs?

• Fund efficiency: Are payouts fast, in-transit times short, and are local payment rails and currency-locking features available to optimise cash flow and exchange management?

• Payment experience: Does the platform support major card networks, local payment methods, and buy now, pay later options, while optimising success rates to minimise failed payments?

• Security and compliance: Does the platform hold necessary security certifications and licences, and provide real-time fraud monitoring and encrypted transactions?

How Airwallex supports global payment operations

Relying on multiple banks and payment providers for cross-border operations adds complexity and limits transparency. Airwallex offers a platform that centralises business accounts, foreign exchange, cross-border transfers, Payments, Expense Management, and APIs in a single system.

Businesses can collect funds in 70+ countries, collect payments in 20+ currencies locally, and remit funds in more than 90 currencies using interbank rates. Local payment rails cover 120+ countries, and 160+ local payment methods are supported across 180 countries.

Expense Management tools include company and employee cards, automated reconciliation, and accounting integration. Platform-based businesses can embed financial workflows directly into their product, allowing users to manage payments and funds in-platform. This simplifies operations and supports growth.

Airwallex serves over 200,000 businesses, processing over US$235 billion annually, holding 80+ licences worldwide. Interbank rates and currency-locking strategies can reduce currency conversion costs by up to 80%, providing transparent, predictable cash flow for global expansion.

Steps to set up a cross-border payment system

1. Current state assessment: Review collection channels, currencies, payout schedules, and conversion costs. Identify causes of failed payments.

2. Goal setting: Define same-currency collection and settlement strategies, prioritise markets, and set fund allocation rules, including timing for currency conversion.

3. Technical integration: Connect collection, payout, and reconciliation processes with enterprise systems to automate month-end and fund management.

4. Risk and compliance setup: Implement payment authentication, limits, and whitelists to meet local regulations and reduce financial risk.

5. Performance measurement and optimisation: Monitor payment success rates, FX costs, payout speed, and chargebacks. Adjust strategies to maintain efficiency as operations scale.

Frequently asked questions

1. What is an eCommerce platform?

An eCommerce platform is a system for buying and selling products or services online. Common types include brand websites, SaaS platforms, marketplaces, and platform-based models.

2. What are the main eCommerce platforms in Hong Kong?

eCommerce platforms can be categorised into brand websites such as Shopify, Shopline, and BigCommerce; marketplaces like Amazon, eBay, Lazada, and Shopee; and platform-based solutions, which include self-built SaaS or marketplace platforms.

3. How can cross-border reconciliation and tax management be simplified?

Connecting payments and accounting systems via APIs allows multi-channel funds to be managed centrally, reducing month-end processes from days to hours. Airwallex integrates collections, payouts, and reconciliation to make cross-border cash management and tax reporting more efficient.