On Tuesday, May 13, the online panel Dialogues Expansión “Online payments: the engine of the digital economy” was held, with the participation of Pierre-Claude Blaise, director of the Mexican Association for Online Sales (AMVO), Héctor Cárdenas , CEO and co-founder of Conekta – a Mexican company that is an expert in online payments – and Mildred Ramo, editor of Hard News at Grupo Expansión, as moderator.
The pandemic changed consumption and purchasing habits in our country: increased sales through the online channel are a reality. However, the director of the AMVO commented on the importance of taking into account that it is a phenomenon that had already shown growth in recent years.
“Mexico is the Latin American country with the highest e-commerce growth since 2017. Later, in 2019, it was also the country with the highest e-commerce growth worldwide with 35%,” explained Blaise.
Today, multiple businesses have started selling their products with a single click, adopting various digital tools: from websites to online payment solutions.
In this regard, as co-founder of Conekta, Cárdenas said: “payment is the last step that the consumer has to carry out when buying online, so for Conekta it is very important that it be simple, secure and for everyone.” For his part, Pierre-Claude said that there are solutions to make life easier for Mexican buyers (online), but there are still opportunities for this adoption to increase.
“It is estimated that in Mexico 9% of the purchases of the retail channel are made online; very close to Spain with 11% or the United States with 15%. But there is a long way to go to China, which has 52%, ”added Blaise. Where it should be noted that the most significant difference between our country and the eastern country is the adoption of electronic payment methods.
Additionally, Cárdenas recommended that the owners of online businesses and SMEs be very close to their consumers and take advantage of social networks. It is even essential to demonstrate warmth in customer service, as people expect a pleasant experience and simple transactions.
Democratizing access to the digital economy through online payments has been one of Conekta’s main objectives. Likewise, the Payment Link that the company launched before the pandemic brought great benefits to both businesses and consumers.
The Payment Link does not require any technical integration. That is to say: “you can create an account and immediately generate payment requests from the Conekta panel, to send the link to whoever you want (by whatsapp, sms or email), so that the person who is going to pay choose between doing it with card, with cash or by transfer.
Finally, for all those who want to start a new business it is important that they consider the benefits of doing it digitally, but they must necessarily take into account offering an efficient payment process.
