With commerce increasingly global and digital, companies of all sizes are looking to expand their business to other countries and emerging regions, such as Latin America. Although this movement offers great opportunities, it also brings many complex challenges.

1) “What service/product am I offering and to whom?”

Knowing the market in the region you want to expand, as well as your target customers and their payment preferences, will impact the systems, connections and regulations you will need to consider.

Each country will have its own requirements, challenges and peculiarities. Customers in some countries may opt for specific digital wallets, others may only want transfers to bank accounts, and still others may require instant payments. The more detailed your objective and the more specific your customers' needs, the better you can determine what capabilities you already have and what you will need to develop.

Finding the right partner can save you time and money, making your expansion plans more manageable. With Beeteller you can count on help to offer different collection methods in the main emerging markets.

2) “What do I need to develop?"

You may have the experience and systems necessary to successfully launch your business into a new market, but for many this is not a reality.

When expanding a business, there are numerous legal and regulatory steps to follow. The first of these are the different licenses from regulatory bodies in each country. Alternatively, in markets where the licensing process is time-consuming and expensive, the alternative is to seek a licensed partner.

Working with international transfers involves dealing with multiple currencies, which need to be acquired, handled and stored securely. Dealing exclusively with major global currencies like US dollars or euros is simpler and more affordable for smaller businesses. But if your goal is to expand into a wider range of different markets and currencies, you'll need a partner who can offer more. Beeteller supports transactions through 40+ payment methods as well as settlement across different payment rails.

3) “What legal obligations and safety standards do I need to comply with?”

The compliance stage should begin with legal and risk reviews to provide opinions on applicable regulations and compliance standards. The extent of legal reviews will depend on the countries you want to expand into, but will include compliance requirements such as data protection, anti-money laundering (AML), terrorist financing and consumer protection protocols.

Different countries have their own laws, standards and regulations for participating in their markets, which are not fixed and continue to evolve. Capturing and storing data requires understanding and complying with data and privacy laws in different countries. For example, Brazil has strict data privacy regulations to protect its consumers (LGPD), which you will need to consider in your data storage and protection strategy. You will also need to adhere to AML and terrorist financing regulations, which vary by country. Companies expanding their business for the first time will need to strengthen risk controls to ensure they prevent international money laundering (suspicious activity monitoring). It is important to ensure that transactions contain all the data required by the regulations of these countries so that the business is sustainable in the long term.

Fraud and risk management is another essential part of compliance responsibilities. More and more regulations are being created to protect people and organizations from the risk of payment fraud. With Beeteller, all transactions are monitored 24x7, through the anti-fraud Hub, mitigating fraud and reputational risks.