Global commerce increasingly depends on the ability to accept and disburse payments locally across markets worldwide. While major card networks and cross-border platforms enable international reach, local payment capabilities remain crucial. Enter the "last mile" fintech innovators building the infrastructure and rails for localized payments in markets globally.
Just as logistics companies enable last mile delivery of goods, these fintechs specialize in powering domestic and in-country payment flows. They provide global merchants localized checkout, payout solutions, alternate payment methods, and essential insights on optimizing acceptance.
The last mile fintechs act as bridges connecting international commerce to local payment preferences. They allow enterprises to deliver a native payment experience across borders. Here are some of the leaders in this space:
dLocal enables global merchants to accept payments in emerging markets across Latin America, APAC, Africa and the Middle East. The company operates as a cross-border payment processor, powering localized checkout, payouts and working capital solutions in 30+ high-growth markets. dLocal handles all the complexity of integrating to alternative payment methods preferred locally across each market. These include options like bank transfers, digital wallets, cash vouchers, QR codes and more. The platform provides a single API for merchants to accept 300+ payment methods while settling funds in USD, EUR or GBP. This simplifies global payment acceptance for enterprise ecommerce, SaaS, online travel and other digital companies. In essence, dLocal acts as the merchant acquirer in each market. But unlike traditional acquirers, they focus exclusively on expanding acceptance for international merchants in developing economies.
Rapyd offers fintech-as-a-service via a single API across over 100 countries. Businesses can use Rapyd to accept and disburse payments globally without setting up local entities. The platform covers local payment methods like bank transfers, e-wallets, cash/debit networks, and QR codes through a consolidated checkout flow. Businesses also get embedded compliance (KYC, AML), card issuing, account management, reconciliation, FX and more. This enables global marketplaces, online services companies and more to embed localized payment capabilities quickly. Rapyd also offers dedicated country-specific solutions for the US, Europe and Southeast Asia markets. The “pay by bank” API enables ACH pull payments in Mexico, bank transfers in the Philippines, instant bank debits across Europe and more.
PPRO focuses specifically on payment localization for global card-not-present transactions (ecommerce, mobile, etc). Its platform powers localized card processing and 100+ alternate payment methods across Asia, Africa, Latin America and Europe. Merchants can accept payments using the most popular local options while also optimizing authorization rates. PPRO also provides reconciliation across all payment types, minimizing complexity for enterprises. In addition to checkout localization, PPRO’s solutions enable payouts, recurring payments and cross-border FX management. The company also offers player account management capabilities for iGaming enterprises. By ensuring global businesses can reach local users with familiar, preferred payment methods, PPRO unlocks incremental sales in key growth markets.
Nomu Pay enables companies to accept and disburse payments in 12 currencies across Southeast Asia, Europe and LATAM. It focuses on powering localized payments between businesses and their suppliers, sellers, contractors or gig workers. The Singapore-headquartered fintech provides an API gateway to process batch payments, bulk corporate payouts, recurring bill payments and pay by link solutions. This simplifies payroll, supplier payments, collections and gig worker payouts. Nomu Pay handles compliance, identity verification, onboarding, reconciliation and more. By abstracting away localization complexities, it allows platforms with global workforces or supply chains to easily move money between businesses locally.
Routefusion offers global transaction processing infrastructure covering international and local payments, reconciliation, treasury services and more. The UK-fintech enables platforms to build tailored financial products and automated workflows for moving money globally. Its flexible APIs handle checkout, disbursements, currency exchange, compliance and workflow automation. This allows marketplaces, remote hiring services and ecommerce companies to embed localized payment capabilities across borders. Routefusion also enables building branded financial experiences to pay and get paid in one place. The global transaction network is built on microservices and connects directly to clearing systems in each market. This provides flexibility to launch financial products anywhere quickly while controlling risk and compliance.
These "last mile" fintechs share a focus on solving complexity at the intersection of global and local. They optimize global money movement by bridging the gap between enterprise systems and on-the-ground financial services in each country.
Other notable innovators include Paysend, which focuses on payments, remittances and card services in EMEA and APAC. Nium (recently rebranded ModusBox) also provides localized disbursement capabilities across key corridors in APAC.
As globalization advances, specialized localization will only grow in importance. Companies that master the last mile of finance in communities worldwide will power the future of global commerce. They deliver the final stretch of connectivity necessary for money to move seamlessly across borders.
##Manning & Company: Talent to Expand Across Markets
At Manning & Company, we understand the talent needs to scale fintechs and financial services into new markets globally. Our dedicated payments practice sources specialized expertise to drive localization efforts across APAC, EMEA, LATAM and more.
Both our full-time placement and on-demand talent solutions are designed to fuel expansion by providing the right skills and experience.
For example, our extensive connections in Asia Pacific allow us to access talent with deep knowledge of payments ecosystems across countries like Singapore, Vietnam, Indonesia and beyond. We source professionals who combine localized expertise with capabilities building and managing global technology platforms.
In EMEA, our presence identifying top engineers out of Eastern Europe supplies technologists with experience driving localization in diverse markets from Poland to Turkey. And in Latin America, our regional connections provide technology and operation leaders who know how to scale businesses across the continent's unique climate.
In addition to regional capabilities, we deliver experts in core competencies like:
Local payment methods, consumer preferences and regulatory nuances
Architecting for performance, reliability and security across markets
Automation, tooling and analytics to optimize global payment reconciliation
Building compliant identity verification, onboarding and payout processes locally
Monetization, pricing optimization and commercialization for new markets
Whether you are looking to launch in Brazil or Thailand, Manning & Company has the financial technology talent needed to cover the last mile. This unique on-the-ground experience enables frictionless expansion anywhere new opportunities emerge. Contact us to learn more about how our global fintech experts can fuel your localization initiatives.