New solution for cross-border currency headache

Internet Retailing

21st May 2018

For online sellers on global marketplaces like Alibaba and Amazon, easy access to far-flung shoppers has typically come at a cost. Namely, the challenge of allowing customers to purchase goods in their local currency without having a physical presence – or bank account – in that country.

While a range of borderless banking solutions for global online sellers have popped up in recent years, many of these still require sellers to transfer foreign currencies into their local currency before they can use funds to pay suppliers or other third-party vendors.

However, a new tool promises to simplify this process by enabling sellers to manage and use multiple currencies within one account, without needing to transfer funds multiple times, saving on exchange rates and freeing up time.

Sydney-based OFX last week launched its Global Currency Account to simplify cash flow management for online sellers trading on international marketplaces.

The move allows users to make secure payments to their global suppliers and even pay taxes, directly from the account. Sellers can also have account balances automatically paid to their domestic bank account when desired.

These features give online sellers advantages usually reserved for much larger global businesses.

Ed Wiley, e-commerce and partnerships manager for OFX, said the new account was the result of customer demand.

“We asked our customers what would help them better manage their global revenue and, based on their feedback, responded with a product that efficiently manages every account, balance and transfer from multiple marketplaces, in multiple currencies, simply and easily,” he said.