Do you want to grow your small business faster than the competition?
Great products. Clever marketing. Customer service that goes above and beyond.
Every small business owner knows the drill. But there's one secret weapon that consistently makes the difference…
Payment flexibility.
The businesses that win most customers are the ones that offer more ways to pay.
And the ones that make it easy to send money abroad from the US find entirely new markets waiting for them across the globe.
It's simple…
Offering greater payment flexibility isn't just a nice-to-have. It's a direct competitive advantage for your bottom line.
Why payment flexibility matters for small businesses
Cash flow makes or breaks a small business.
Every sale is precious. Every abandoned cart is a loss. And more often than not, it's the business's fault the potential sale was lost in the first place.
Customers want options. Credit cards, digital wallets, bank transfers, even instalment plans. These are all part of the modern checkout experience.
When a business doesn't have their preferred option ready to go… The customer just leaves.
Our own research at GR4VY suggests between 5-17% of shoppers abandon their carts when their preferred payment method isn't available.
That's up to one in five lost sales. But payment flexibility is about more than just local transactions.
When small businesses go global, they need reliable ways to manage cross-border payments.
Pay overseas suppliers. Receive money from international customers. Sell in multiple currencies.
The ability to transfer money from PayPal and other sending money abroad options are a crucial part of the solution.
How the payment options you offer directly influence sales
We're not just throwing opinions around here. Look at the numbers.
Businesses that offer more payment methods get more sales. And this isn't conjecture.
This comes directly from some of the largest payment processors in the world who process billions upon billions of dollars in transactions every year.
Research from Stripe found showing a single additional payment method beyond cards increases the average conversion rate by 7%. In some cases, the boost was even higher.
Consider what that 7% bump would do for a small business. Say a store converts 100 customers a month.
Add just one new payment method and it jumps to 107 conversions. That's 7 extra sales, every month, without having to pay a dime for advertising.
This all circles back to digital wallets, too. Apple Pay, Google Pay, and all their kin are some of the fastest-growing checkout methods.
Customers are faster to complete purchases when friction is removed from the process.
And friction is reduced when payment details are already securely stored and ready to go.
The scale of payment flexibility for small businesses isn't about larger vendors suddenly competing with other vendors ten times their size.
It's also about matching the convenience customers already expect from the tech giants.
How adding sending money abroad options opens new markets
It's easy to think that global commerce is only for big corporations with dedicated compliance departments.
But small businesses are already selling to international customers. They're buying from overseas suppliers. They're hiring remote staff in different countries.
Selling or buying abroad has a massive opportunity built into it.
But it's also a huge pain in the neck.
The standard international payments solutions are slow, expensive, and laden with red tape.
Wire transfers can take days to arrive. Banks charge ridiculous fees. The currency conversion rates they offer are awful.
This is where sending money abroad options come into play.
Modern payment services offer:
- Faster transfer speeds – Often within minutes, not days
- Lower fees – Dramatically cheaper than traditional banks
- Better exchange rates – Competitive rates that help protect profit margins
- Multi-currency support – Ability to send, receive and hold multiple currencies
The sooner small businesses figure out how to take advantage of international payments, the greater the opportunity for a competitive advantage.
Think about a small ecommerce store that sells handmade products.
By setting up the right infrastructure, they can accept orders from European customers, pay suppliers in Asia, and manage all transactions from the same dashboard.
Without flexible sending money abroad options, though, all the effort is for nothing.
The store is limited to just their domestic market.
Crafting the ultimate flexible payment strategy
It all sounds great, but how do small businesses go about creating more flexibility around payments without needing an MSc in computer science to manage everything?
It's not as hard as you might think.
Here's a four-step plan:
Step 1.: Know the customers
Different segments have different payment preferences. Gen Z and younger customers prefer digital wallets.
Boomers and older folks like credit cards and bank transfers. Overseas customers have local preferences.
Research the target audience. What do they like to use? Focus on these methods first.
Step 2.: Analyze current gaps
Look at the abandoned carts. At which point in the checkout do most people leave? Which methods are they asking for that the store doesn't offer?
These are the pain points. Easy ways to boost sales.
Step 3.: Add strategic options
Don't try to offer every payment method available. Pick the top three or four that make the most sense for the business.
Domestic options might include:
- Credit/Debit cards
- Digital wallets (Apple Pay, Google Pay)
- Buy now, pay later solutions
International options could be:
- Multi-currency processing
- International bank transfers
- Cross-border payment platforms
Step 4.: Test and optimize
Customer preferences aren't set in stone. Keep testing different methods.
Monitor conversion rates by payment type. Track abandoned carts. Survey customers for feedback.
Adjust based on performance data.
Leveling the playing field for small businesses
For too long, small businesses have looked at the playing field and thought they were at a disadvantage compared to larger vendors.
Sure, there are businesses out there with resources and marketing budgets hundreds of times the size of the smaller player.
But offering the exact kind of payment experience customers want opens an unexpected channel to earn loyalty in a way that big brands struggle to compete with.
Think about that. Payments as an advantage, not just a line item in the operational budget.
If every improvement to the checkout experience is friction removed between a customer and their purchase…
A friction that only serves to help the customer decide to buy from your business rather than a competitor.
The small business competitive advantage
Payment flexibility is no longer a "nice-to-have." It's not a bonus or a potential feature for the future.
Offer more payments options. Make it easy for people to pay you.
Offer sending money abroad options to open international markets. It's all vital for small business success in the present day.
To quickly recap:
- Offer multiple payment options to increase sales
- Focus on sending money abroad options to win global markets
- Study checkout data to find gaps
- Treat payment methods as a source of advantage, not just an operational function
The businesses that get this stuff will carve out significant advantages in a global and increasingly digital marketplace.
So start now.
Add one new payment method. Figure out one new sending money abroad option. Make one improvement.
And watch the difference payment flexibility makes to your small business over time.