5 minutes with PyxPro Director Stephen Williams
Photo by Rui Xu at Unsplash
PyxPro’s payment solutions are the missing link between British retailers and the booming Chinese e-commerce market. Better still, set-up is free. Stephen Williams explains how it works…
Officially, England and the rest of the UK are coming out the other side of pandemic-induced purgatory. After more than a year of restrictions that saw high streets, airports and offices deserted, life can return to normal.
Or can it?
A fast and forced move towards e-commerce, the unpredictable nature of potential future COVID-restrictions and a new era of working from home is cause for concern among British retailers.
“Even before the coronavirus crisis hit, footfall in high streets were decreasing, while sales experienced similar declines since 2017,” according to Statista’s research department announced in May 2021.
It’s not all bad news though. There’s one area of relatively untapped potential for savvy British retailers to take advantage of, it’s just a matter of looking East. Far East.
China’s e-commerce market is expected to make up more than half of worldwide sales in 2021 and consumer demand for British products and services is stronger than ever. But the world’s largest e-commerce market can be tricky to navigate. Unfamiliar payment gateways, a truly unique social media landscape and a distinct culture with entrenched business etiquette that’s vastly different to here in the UK can prove challenging for businesses entering the market.
The solution? A trusted partner. PyxPro is a British company, with a London HQ and a team of global experts that help businesses by closing the gap between China and the UK. After all, despite the geographical distance, online, we’re only a few clicks away.
We spoke to PyxPro’s Director Stephen Williams, about what PyxPro’s capabilities and why it is the solution for savvy businesses looking to expand their market share.
What is PyxPro?
Stephen Williams, Director, PyxPro. Photo by John Cassidy, The Headshot Guy
We focus on two areas – digital payments and marketing. PyxPro makes cross-border payments easy. In China, consumers don’t pay with Visa or Mastercard, or even debit cards. The vast majority of transactions are made via Alipay or WeChat Pay apps. Our app lets businesses in the UK or wider Europe accept payments from those apps.
Put simply: Chinese customers can make payments in a way that’s familiar and comfortable with them, and businesses that use PyxPro can accept payment in a way that’s familiar and comfortable with them. We bridge the gap so that it’s a win-win.
But we recognise that due to the size of the Chinese e-commerce market it can be tough for brands to get noticed, which is why we also offer marketing services through PyxHub. PyxHub can do everything from making sure your website is Chinese-friendly, to developing a China-centric social media strategy and implementing KOL campaigns.
Why did you launch PyxPro?
I’ve worked in financial markets for decades and 10 to 15 years ago I really started to notice the growing Asian economy and an appetite for Western goods and services. But there were barriers to monetising this set of circumstances. And that’s what PyxPro addresses. It’s a bridge between western merchants who are used to receiving money a certain way and Chinese consumers who are increasingly using apps like Alipay to buy things.
We’re not the first to do this – there are other payment solutions and other China-centric marketing agencies, but the fact that we offer both sets us apart.
Why China?
Photo by Jimmy Chan at Pexels.
China’s middle class is growing, they have money to spend and they’re doing so online. And while they’re making a lot of purchases from domestic brands, there’s a huge and growing demand for international products – especially British ones.
Read more: 12 Reasons Your Business Should Prioritise a Move into China
Cross border e-commerce in China hit almost £46 billion in 2019 and it’s almost unanimously agreed that that figure will continue to rise. The demand for ‘Brand Britain’ is strong across a range of sectors. The China-Britain Business Council recently flagged beauty and skincare and health and wellness as some of the biggest areas of demand. Education is another area that is extremely attractive to Chinese consumers, given our country’s long-standing track record in academic excellence. There’s also a level of prestige and quality that China associates with all things British that is good news for retailers here.
Read more: How UK Retailers Can Capitalise on China’s Demand For ‘Brand Britain’
The beauty of China is that because of its sheer numbers, brands don’t need a massive market share to do very well. You don’t need to be the biggest, you just need to be there.
It’s not enough to just turn up though. To get noticed, you need to be consistent in building your brand and building your brand’s equity. And in China, that generally means forming a partnership with a company like PyxPro.
How does it work?
It’s very simple. There are some basic registration forms to complete but once that happens you can accept AliPay and WeChat Pay payments within 5 days, although it’s often a lot less than that.
PyxPro integrates into your existing checkout process, there’s no set-up fee or maintenance costs, instead, businesses pay a flat processing fee per transaction, based on its value.
We also offer a standalone POS machine, and integration with your existing POS machines, so that you can accept payments in person as well as online.
What sets PyxPro apart from its competitors?
First of all – we know the market. Our team has decades of combined experience in doing business internationally. We are British, but we understand China’s unique business culture. We’re a China-Britain Business Council member and our strong relationships with AliPay and WeChat Pay means our processing fees are among the lowest available anywhere. And we don’t charge extra fees for foreign exchange, statements, withdrawals, or billing.
We also value simplicity. Digital payments don’t need to be complicated. We know how stretched businesses are so we’ve developed our solutions so that they’re intuitive and easy to manage with no additional resources needed from your side.
We’re very collaborative in our approach to clients and we have a vested interest in them doing well. We want them to succeed not least because our income is based on a volume metric.
At the heart of what we do though is a passion for seeing British businesses like ours succeed. We are here to help you meet your goals in China through our PyxHub marketing support and through PyxPro payments with its 24/7 customer service channels.
Want to find out more? Have a chat with us today.