Cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement: analysis of patterns and characteristics

Cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement refers to parties in international economic activities using certain payment tools and methods to repay international claims and debts arising from various economic activities, and to generate fund transfers and foreign currency exchanges. Behavior. This process occurs along with the import and export of goods, and has the following salient features:

• The reason is the creditor’s rights and debts caused by cross-border e-commerce activities: Cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement require the processing of funds in cross-border e-commerce activities, and the creditors’ rights and debts caused by transactions Relationship is the reason for cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement.
• The subject is a party in cross-border e-commerce activities: The meaning of a party depends on different activities.
• Payment requires the use of certain tools: The tools for cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement are generally currency and bills. Since the parties to international payments are generally transnational (or regional) natural persons and legal persons, and the currencies used by each country (or region) are different, this involves the choice of currency, the use of foreign exchange, and the related changes in foreign exchange rates. Risk issues.
• A certain payment method is required to ensure the security of transactions: In cross-border trade, buyers and sellers usually proceed from their own interests and strive to obtain greater security protection in payment collection and payment. To avoid suffering the loss of both money and goods, and to obtain some kind of accommodation in terms of capital turnover.
• The payee and the payee are in different currency circles: This is a special situation in remote settlement.
• Limited legal constraints between the payer and the payer: Since the payer and the payer are under different legal systems and are restricted by relevant laws, the prevailing conditions of one party cannot be imposed on the other party, but only The unified practice of international settlement shall be used as the criterion to coordinate the relationship between the two parties and restrain each other.
• Internationally accepted payment and settlement currencies need to be used: Cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement generally use internationally accepted payment and settlement currencies, such as US dollars, euros, pounds, etc.
• Banks are needed as intermediaries: to ensure the safety, speed, accuracy, insurance and convenience of payment.
• There is a certain exchange risk: Since cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement generally choose a currency different from the national (or local) currency of both parties as the payment settlement currency, there are certain risks in the settlement process. Certain exchange risk.

From the overall perspective of cross-border trade, my country’s current cross-border trade includes four mainstream models: traditional large-scale B2B cross-border trade, small-scale B2B cross-border trade, platform-based B2C cross-border trade, and self-B2C cross-border trade. border trade. Third-party cross-border payment and settlement is serving three models in addition to the traditional large-scale B2B trade model. A complete cross-border payment and settlement process actually includes three major links: acquiring orders, collecting money, and settling and selling foreign exchange. Take the process of third-party cross-border payment and settlement in cross-border e-commerce B2C export trade as an example: the acquiring agency transfers the money to the merchant’s overseas account through the card issuing bank and international credit card organization, and then the collecting company conducts Related account services and transfers, and finally foreign exchange settlement and sales through banks or domestic licensed institutions.

Based on the comparison of capital flows, cross-border e-commerce payment and settlement can be divided into export foreign exchange collection and settlement models and import foreign exchange purchase and payment models. The export foreign exchange collection and settlement model is that products are priced in RMB, settled in RMB, and overseas consumers pay in foreign currency; the import foreign exchange purchase and payment model is that products are priced in foreign currency, settled in foreign currency, and domestic consumers pay in RMB.