As a deep plowing cross-border payment of the old players, these years I stepped on the pits in the payment link can be written into a book of "cross-border blood and tears" - to the Southeast Asian partners to pay, because it does not support the local e-wallet, was forced to accept the intermediary 15% exchange rate premiums; the peak season to the advertisement account topped up, the traditional bank transfer card for three days. Watching the traffic cost doubled; to pay commissions to European KOL, PayPal's commission alone ate 5% of profit ...... Until the recent in-depth experience of PhotonPay PhotonPay's services, only to discover that cross-border payments can be so "silky smooth". The following is my real use of feedback, pure dry goods without wide, take as needed.
When PayPal meets local e-wallets: finally no need to beg for payment methods
Let's start with the 'two-way payment capability' that surprised me the most.
In the past, when paying commissions to overseas KOLs, the other party only accepts PayPal, so I had to first exchange foreign currency from my domestic account and then transfer it through a third-party platform, and a payment of 20,000 U.S. dollars had to go through three conversions of "RMB→USD→PayPal account," which cost more than 800 yuan just for the handling fee, and the account was slow like a snail's pace. Now with photon easy directly from the merchant side with the dollar to the other PayPal wallet, real-time not to mention the account, the exchange rate is lower than the bank 0.3%, last month to the British netizen to pay 15,000 pounds, direct savings of more than 4,500 yuan.
What's even better is their new local e-wallet function. Last year, when developing the Indonesian market, the local logistics provider insisted on using GoPay to receive payment, I looked for three payment companies could not get it, and finally had to let the other party first advance payment and then deducted from the payment, which slowed down the delivery date for two weeks. Now PhotonicsEase supports 27 local wallets, covering Indonesia, the Philippines, Vietnam and nine other countries, I use IDR rupiah to pay directly to GoPay, not to mention the account in a second, but also in the background of real-time checking the transaction records, and no longer need to pull the "money in the end whether or not to the account" of the skin with the supplier.
Attached is a table of real-world tests: mainstream wallet support in Southeast Asia
| nations | E-wallet support | Payment Currency | credit time |
|---|---|---|---|
| Indonesia | GoPay, LinkAja | IDR | (in) real time |
| Philippine | GCash, Maya | PHP | (in) real time |
| Vietnam | MoMo, ZaloPay | VND | (in) real time |
II. Photon Card: My "Swiss Army Knife" for Cross-Border Payments
At first I thought the Photon Card was just a virtual credit card, but after using it, I realized that it is an 'all-in-one tool'.
Our team often have to pay Google advertising fees and Shopify store rent, before using domestic credit cards to pay foreign currency, not only have 3% currency conversion fees, but also often by the wind control refused to pay. Now with the photon card binding Mastercard channel, directly from the account balance deduction, 0 handling fees, not to mention, but also according to the real-time exchange rate settlement. Last month to the U.S. station invested 50,000 U.S. dollars in advertising, the exchange rate difference alone saved more than 2,000.
The most practical feature is the "batch card issuance" function. We send travel subsidies to our overseas warehouse team, we used to transfer money one by one, but now we directly generate 10 virtual cards, set different limits for each card, one for each of procurement, logistics, and administration, and the spending records are clear at a glance in the background. The cost of opening a card is only $1 per card, and the monthly rent is $0.1, which is 80% cheaper than the physical card issued by the bank.
Third, from "manual reconciliation" to "one-click batch": finance finally no longer want to leave the company
Previously, the biggest headache is the batch payment - the peak season every day to more than 50 suppliers to pay, the financial girl manually fill in the order to the early morning, but also had two amount of fill in the wrong oolong. Now with the photon easy batch payment function, a one-time upload Excel form, up to 50 orders, each amount can also be set individually, the system automatically checks the payee information, last month tried to pay a supplier in Vietnam, 10 minutes to deal with the work of the previous 2 hours, the financial girl said she wanted to send a banner to the product manager.
Inter-account transfer is even a "money-saving tool". We have subsidiaries in Hong Kong and the U.S. Previously, we had to exchange funds through the bank, and the handling fee alone was HK$500 per transaction, but now we use Photon Easy to transfer funds in the original currency directly, with zero handling fee. Last week, we transferred $80,000 from our Hong Kong account to our U.S. account. Looking at the real-time balance in the background, I felt like I had discovered the "cross-border capital highway".
IV. Compliance and efficiency: adults don't make choices, I want both
To be honest, at first, I was worried about the lack of compliance of small platforms, but after checking the information, I found that PhotonicsEase holds 7 licenses such as Hong Kong MSO, U.S. MSB, etc., and in the European Union, we use Polish SPI qualification, which is much more reliable than some platforms claiming to be "omnipotent". During the last audit, the accountant checked our payment records to European Netflix, and when he saw the compliant transaction report provided by PhotonicsEase, he directly said, "This is much clearer than the process of a certain pass".
In terms of efficiency, traditional bank transfers take 3-5 days to arrive at the account, and once I gave a refund to a Brazilian customer just in time for the Black Friday sale, the money arrived two days late and almost lost the order. Now with photon easy, Brazilian local bank account payment the fastest 10 minutes to the account, last week to Mercado Libre platform to withdraw 200,000 reais, 3:00 p.m. to submit the application, 3:12 on the customer received a confirmation text message.
Fifth, to avoid the pit reminds: these features do not use indiscriminately
While the overall experience is good, there are a few points to note:
- Acquiring business is more closely scrutinized: When we applied for independent station acquiring, we submitted the information 3 times before passing, we suggest to prepare the business license, product introduction and transaction flow in advance.
- Virtual Card Limit Management: Single card maximum spending of 10,000 U.S. dollars per day, more than the need to apply for limit adjustments, remember to plan ahead before the peak season.
- Local Wallet Currency RestrictionsFor example, the Turkish UPTION wallet only supports TRY, USD, and EUR, and payment in other currencies will be returned, so be sure to check the currency before placing an order.
VI. Conclusion: What does the "optimal solution" for cross-border payments look like?
After using it for three months, the biggest feeling I got from Photon Easy was:It is not the kind of "all-purpose platform" that blows a lot of smoke, but a "toolset" that practically solves the pain points of cross-border payment.--When you need to pay PayPal, it has the fastest channel; when you need to localize the payment, it has the most grounded wallet docking; when you need to manage funds, it has the most flexible account system. For small and medium-sized sellers like me, there is no need to spend a lot of money to build their own payment system, and no need to switch between multiple platforms, a tool to take care of the payment needs of 90%, which is enough.
(Note: The above is a personal real experience, the specific function to open according to the enterprise qualification audit, it is recommended to apply for a free trial before deciding.)
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