Global B2C leaders operationalize localization with discipline. Canva maps payment preferences country-by-country and supports local methods directly in its checkout: Canva’s supported payment options page is a living proof-point for “local by default” method

These are not “nice to have” options; they are the default ways many customers pay, and Canva meets them there to remove friction and raise trust Canva. Adobe goes equally deep on price localization by charging in local currencies for a large roster of countries—from, from BRL in Brazil to INR in India and KRW in South Korea—reducing FX surprises and aligning price points with local purchasing power. Their “Currencies supported by country” matrix shows how systematically Adobe implements currency and purchasing localization at scale for teams and enterprise.

Digital wallets now dominate many online journeys. In 2023, wallets accounted for $13.9 trillion in global transaction value, representing 50% of e-commerce spend and 30% at point of sale; by 2027 they’re projected to exceed $25 trillion and 49% of all sales online and at POS combined. This is not a niche—it is the median global behavior. Mobile’s share of global e-commerce has also tripled over the decade, from 19% to 57%, making mobile-native wallet flows (Apple Pay, Google Pay, local wallets) a conversion-critical standard.

Meanwhile, account-to-account (A2A) rails are transforming key markets. Brazil’s Pix drove A2A e-commerce spend from $3.6 billion in 2020 to $35.3 billion in 2024, changing how consumers expect to pay at checkout.

Controlled experiments and at-scale analyses consistently show large gains when businesses match price and payment to local norms. Payinsider’s statistically significant holdback experiment across 50+ payment methods found that dynamically surfacing at least one relevant method beyond cards lifted conversion by 7.4% and revenue by 12% on average. In specific market-method pairings, the effects were dramatic: +46% with BLIK in Poland, +39% with iDEAL in the Netherlands, +27% with Konbini for digital apps in Japan, and +47% with PayPal for digital media in Germany. Even globally, Apple Pay increased conversion by 22.3% and revenue by 22.5%. Bank debits also matter by use case: SEPA Direct Debit raised conversion 12% in the EU, and ACH/Bacs can drive net-new volume rather than cannibalizing cards stripe.com.

Vendor-side SaaS growth analyses reinforce the compounding effect of price and payment localization. Paddle reports that companies with multi-currency enabled grew 7% faster than those without; offering two currencies grew 13% faster than one; and offering 25+ currencies correlated with 25% higher growth. In 2021, companies with at least one alternative payment method grew 22% faster than those without, and ProfitWell data shows businesses with four or more truly localized regions doubled their average month-over-month growth versus no localization. While vendor studies should be interpreted alongside your telemetry, the directional signal is strong and consistent with what we see in platform-scale experiments Paddle.

Local acquiring—processing via an acquirer domiciled in the buyer’s country—improves issuer familiarity, reduces cross-border fees, and helps charge in the customer’s native currency. The net effect is higher authorization rates and lower total cost of acceptance, with faster settlements and fewer surprises for customers (no foreign transaction fees on statements). For global SaaS, local acquiring provides a base layer that makes your localization look and feel “native,” while your orchestration layer decides when to switch between acquirers for reliability and cost.

Europe

Digital wallets are now the leading online method in nine of the 14 European markets tracked by Worldpay’s Global Payments Report, and many consumers fund wallets via bank accounts—an important hint for promoting A2A options in the right contexts. Local cards and SEPA Direct Debit remain core for subscriptions, while SCA and 3DS user experience can make or break mobile conversion. Translating checkout UI and respecting address/date formats pays immediate dividends in trust and completion.

Asia-Pacific

APAC has long been a digital payments pace-setter, with wallets the leading online method in eight of 14 APAC markets covered by Worldpay. Country specifics matter: Japan’s Konbini works for digital goods, India’s UPI dominates everyday payments, and Southeast Asian e-wallets often tie tightly to super-app ecosystems. Stripe notes cross-border revenue in Asia grew >30% in 2023 among its users, reflecting both demand and readiness to buy if payment frictions are removed.

Brazil (LATAM)

Pix has transformed checkout behavior. Since its launch, A2A e-commerce spend rose from $3.6 billion in 2020 to $35.3 billion in 2024. For subscriptions and invoices, Pix can cut fees, boost confirmation speed, and reduce involuntary churn if combined with smart reminders and instant retry logic. Merchants expanding in LATAM should treat Pix, boleto, and local cards as baseline, not “alternative,” methods.

India

UPI has revolutionized daily payments, compressing cash share and dominating e-commerce transaction value, with third-party sources citing UPI at 64% of e-commerce value and 58% at point-of-sale by 2024. For SaaS with low AOVs and mobile-first acquisition, UPI handles can reduce friction versus cards while preserving trust and speed; however, recurring mandates have their own rules that require product and ops alignment.

For fast-growing AI software companies, core resources must be focused on product development and market expansion. While building a payment system is a top priority in the "from zero to one" phase, optimizing it often gets deprioritized during scaling. Global and local adaptation—particularly in payments and pricing—tends to fall into the “important but not urgent” category.

This is precisely why leveraging a specialized payment platform becomes critical. It not only reduces technical investment by over 80% but also provides data-driven models and industry expertise to support smarter decision-making in selecting payment methods and partners—much, much like a test-taker who already knows the answers, helping you avoid pitfalls and accelerate growth.

Method Localization

Local Acquiring and Smart Routing

Mobile-first Wallet Flows

Price and Currency Strategy

A2A (Account to Account) Readiness

Compliance as UX

Involuntary Churn Control

Before formally considering whether to adopt localized pricing and payment strategies, you can start by asking the following three questions based on existing market data:

If two or more of these questions resonate with your situation, the five-step localization strategy summarized by Payinsider from practical experience may help you implement your localization efforts in a more structured manner:

For your top five non-English markets, measure the current usage share of payment methods, credit card authorization rates by BIN country, and checkout drop-off points on mobile devices. This will provide clear targets for localization impact and help plan which wallets or A2A (Account-to-Account) payment methods to enable in which regions.

Based on usage patterns and basket types, integrate the top two payment methods (e.g., iDEAL/PayPal in the Netherlands; Pix/cards in Brazil; UPI/e-wallets in India). Conduct A/B tests comparing "dynamically recommended payment methods" with "credit card-only" options. If your transaction volume is sufficient, expect a double-digit percentage improvement in conversion rates.

Prioritize connecting to local acquiring networks in core markets and compare authorization rates for domestic versus cross-border routing. Aim for a 5–10% increase in transaction acceptance rates; use smart rerouting for soft-declined transactions.

Launch pilot programs in markets with mature instant payment infrastructure (e.g., Pix/UPI/SEPA Instant). Design user experiences that support instant payments and refund confirmations. Compared to long-tail credit card users, this approach typically reduces payment costs and enhances user trust (B2B businesses can simultaneously adjust financial reconciliation and collection processes for even greater effectiveness).

Globalization for SaaS is now a craft: orchestrating local price, currency, method, and acquiring decisions into a checkout that feels native anywhere. Leaders don’t guess—they measure method relevance, route locally, and operationalize compliance as UX. The data shows you can buy back double-digit conversion and revenue with these moves. For orchestration platforms, the opportunity is to turn these patterns into defaults: dynamic method surfacing, market-aware pricing, local acquiring by design, and intelligent recovery, all backed by transparent KPIs and rapid experimentation. Ship those, and your merchants will feel like locals wherever they sell.