PayU, a global online payment service provider headquartered in Amsterdam, today announced the launch of a new platform. PayU Hub, which conforms to API design principles, aims to use technology to solve the cross-border commerce challenges currently facing merchants looking to grow and scale in high growth markets.

Through a single integration the PayU Hub provides merchants with access to 2.3 billion potential new customers in the major high growth markets across Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Middle-East, India, Africa and Latin America.

“The cross-border market is expected to grow from $401 billion in 2016 to $994 billion in 2020. Nearly two-thirds of cross-border business will come from high growth markets like Asia and Latin America. These figures demonstrate the business opportunities available to ambitious merchants from around the globe,” PayU CCO Matthias Setzer said, ahead of his presentation at Money 20/20 Europe today alongside Zooz CEO Oren Levy.

“However, despite the attractiveness of these growing markets, merchants are being held back by cumbersome cross-border payment infrastructure and processes. PayU Hub’s combination of our own unique local knowledge and new technology will help tackle these current barriers and ensure that our customers have access to the best financial services.”

PayU Hub’s “hyper-local direct connections” to acquirers and alternative payment methods allows merchants to see increased card approval rates and reach entire markets through alternative payment methods. This also ensures that local consumers in high growth markets can pay for their purchases using their preferred payment method.

The next stage of the PayU Hub, which is in its induction stage, will be the completion of pilot tests by select PayU customers. The results of these tests and their impact on cross border payments and processes are expected in the next couple of months.