Client : PayPal Country : Singapore

Publication : E27.co Section : Singapore News

Date : 8 April 2013

Topic : PayPal helps small businesses go cross-border

Circulation : 8,512

URl: : http://e27.co/2013/04/05/paypal-helps-small-businesses-go-cross-border/

PayPal helps small businesses go cross-border

Local merchant Helena Tang-Lim has shared how

having a credible payment provider like PayPal helps small businesses reach more consumers

globally.

At a press session with PayPal, the global e-commerce provicer shared with e27 how its online

payment system has helped small businesses in Singapore during the economic downturn. They also

had Helena Tang-Lim, a local merchant who uses PayPal for her e-commerce business, over to share

her story.

Helena Tang-Lim owns Manek-Manek Beads, which sells hand-made bead jewelry. Going online to

sell her crafts is the only way there is. Overhead costs were high, rental was expensive and a virtual

space seemed the most worthwhile.

However, she needed a way to get her consumers to pay on the website directly. She could not get a

merchant account from banks because her business was just starting out and extremely small. So

when she discovered PayPal — a name many of her customers on Etsy recognized and knew about

— she decided to convert her website from just a catalogue into a viable e-commerce site. At the

moment, not only does Helena sell her beaded creations, she also puts up e-tutorials and supplies

for her customers.

Helena Fang-Lim, owner of Manek Manek Beads, with her precious creations

According to Helena, 90 percent of her customers are not from Singapore, but from Europe, the US

and Australia. Cross border sales is common among many of PayPal’s merchants, with about 25

percent of all of PayPal’s businesses accounting for it.

PayPal also shared that the fastest growing export markets from Singapore include China, Hong

Kong, Philippines, Taiwan, Japan, and Australia. Exports from Singapore to China stand at 68 percent

year-on-year growth, with Hong Kong following up close with 55 percent year-on-year. And what do

they export, exactly? Well, the top export categories from Singapore are the following: travel,

computers and accessories, electronics, entertainment and media, vehicles and accessories, and toys

and hobbies.

Going mobile

Faraz Ahmed, general manager of PayPal

Southeast Asia and India, said that they are also now focusing more on mobile. Last year, PayPal

released two solutions for the mobile users: Mobile Payment Standard and Mobile Commerce In A

Box.

The first helps consumers who are browsing websites with PayPal features that are not optimized for

the mobile web. It automatically redirects these users to a mobile payment checkout process that

has been optimized for various mobile devices. As for the latter, it provides an easier and more

simplified search system for consumers to find what they want to purchase while surfing on their

phones or tablets.

PayPal also shared that the top mobile commerce export categories in Singapore are: jewelry,

fashion, cameras, mobile phones, and sports equipment.