Localization is an ongoing process requiring growing yearly budgets. When it comes to hiring a web translation services, many businesses take part in the process once and fail to revisit the service again when they need it.

Establishments in fast-moving sectors, where rapid development and innovation is the norm, may require such service more often than they think. An example of this is the banking and payments industry. The field is experiencing disruption on a regular basis opens in a new window with the rise of bitcoin, eWallet, wireless payments and banking apps.

“The growth in payments and transaction banking, moreover, is driving stiff competition among not only traditional players but new entrants as well. Consequently, financial institutions must differentiate themselves, refine their strategies, and raise their execution skills if they want to remain competitive,” explained Boston Consulting Group in a recent global payments report.

PayPal vs. Skrill

Companies in the financial space that have benefited from a web translation services include PayPal and Skrill. Paypal, a pioneer in digital payments, is known for localizing its online offerings based on various target regions across the globe. The establishment has a number of sites (in French, Japanese and Arabic- just to name a few) that not only provide translated versions of their website, but also relatable, local images. A closer look at the French version of PayPal’s site shows that the business also went out of its way to provide translated press releases for local media outlets. Furthermore, its user agreements and Terms of Service (ToS) guidelines have been updated to accommodate residents in the local region.

Skrill has taken similar steps to cater to various European regions. Last year, the startup was acquired by Optimal Payments, one of Europe’s biggest prepaid online voucher providers, for $1.2 billion. To cater to specific EU markets, the group currently has translated versions of its website in French, German and Spanish. By comparison, PayPal’s site localization is not only wider, but also deeper than Skrill’s, since the latter is using a universal layout and only one set of images across all of its websites.

Successes in Web Translation Services and Website Localization

PayPal’s localization efforts have been rewarded greatly in many forms. The business is currently valued at $52 billion and analysts expect the group to push their earning power even further, as digital payments technology increases in availability. With a strong presence in international regions, it has successfully partnered with numerous foreign brands, such as Scandinavian Airlines (SAS), Vodafone, Telcel and Claro. The company has also been able to grow its customer base by 6.6 million in the fourth quarter of 2015. In such cases, web translation services and localization served as a binder or a connector that allowed foreign customers to understand its products and offerings. “PayPal is the gorilla among independent digital payment service providers with more than 160 million active accounts, global scale and brand recognition,” J.P. Morgan analysts said.

For Skrill, its road to success lies with Optimal Payments’ aggressive expansion strategy. Since it was acquired by the group, the business has been able to expand its services in more than 22 different languages and 41 currencies.

“Both companies successes are attributed to their commitment to offering international users a local experience when transacting on their sites, confirming that the language of business and finance is indeed the language of the customer!” Said Nabil Freij, President of GlobalVision a leading website translation service provider.