In a global marketplace, you have so many opportunities to increase your business sales by selling to international customers, but one of the potential barriers to success can be the perceived difficulties encountered when accepting payments in different currencies.
You can accept online payments from India, for instance, once you understand how the payment system works and possess the required knowledge that then enables you to complete international trade with confidence.
Here are some of the key points to bear in mind with regard to accepting payments in a legally acceptable way.
Preparing for export
As you would expect, there will be a certain amount of paperwork that has to be completed in order to allow you to accept international payments without any problems.
When you submit your account application for an online payment service you should ensure that you opt in to the exports option.
This means that you are making a declaration that you will be exporting products to customers located outside of India and will be using various currency options.
Obtain a code
Although the internet has created an online market that does not have obvious physical borders the reality of exporting items is obviously different, which is why you need to obtain an importer/exporter code, otherwise known as an IEC.
This gives you certain benefits and protections relating to India’s foreign trade policies. You can obtain the code from the Indian Director General of Foreign Trade.
Check whether this a legal requirement in relation to the goods or services you are providing.
Comply with regulatory reporting
Your online payment provider will need you to provide a certain level of customer information so that they can comply with banking regulations.
If you are going to be accepting payments that are in a foreign currency or when the customer does not hold a recognized Indian bank card, there are additional fields that need to be completed as part of the transaction process.
Speak to your payment provider about this so that your account is properly set up to accept payments legally.
Reducing the risk of fraud
It should be remembered that international card payments are not subjected to the 2-factor authentication process and that raises the risk of a fraudulent transaction.
Check what protocols for fighting fraud your payment provider has in place and ensure that your system complies so that you minimize the prospect of fraud and have legal redress if it occurs.
Best practice
It can often be the case that you set up a recurring payment or subscription option with a customer, but this needs to be done properly so that comply with best practices and avoid disputes.
Make sure that your signup page clearly informs the customer that they are agreeing to a recurring payment and furnishes them with clear instructions as to how they can cancel and what procedure they have to follow.
If you give your customer a clear and concise overview of their options and rights it will help to ensure you stay on the right side of the law and reduce the prospect of a disputed transaction.
If you keep these important aspects of international payment processing in mind it should smooth the way for hassle-free transactions that tick all of the boxes when it comes to legal compliance.
