WePay, payments partner to the ‘platform economy’ across the Atlantic, expands to the UK to link multi-party payments overseas

Despite Brexit fears, total e-commerce sales in the UK is expected to reach$126.28 billion (£96.17 billion) in the next three years, placing its e-commerce economy at the top of the European league table in terms of rapid growth.

For American payments provider WePay, the UK’s flourishing platform economy suggest a strong opportunity for growth, prompting its expansion into the UK. This means platforms can now serve UK users with the same payments services for customers in the US and Canada, including fraud risk protections, compliance and support functions.

In the US, WePay is the payments partner for crowdfunding and business software platforms like GoFundMe, FreshBooks, and Constant Contact.

According to Bill Clerico, CEO of WePay, this will make international expansion smoother for companies on either side of the pond. “Going international has traditionally been a frustrating process for companies that offer payments. By partnering with WePay, platforms can now integrate once and immediately offer the same level of payments service on both sides of the Atlantic, safely and seamlessly,” he said.

To enter the UK market, WePay worked closely with a number of UK and EU regulators, banking partners, and the credit card associations. The company assets that the UK’s departure from the European Union does not affect WePay’s expansion plans in the UK. 

Shared language and business practices make the UK the first overseas destination for many North American platforms looking to expand internationally. The UK market also boasts the world’s highest per capita e-commerce spend, contributing to its status as the world’s third largest e-commerce market, after the US and China. Research from WePay highlights top reasons for platforms to expand to the UK, as revealed in the infographic below.