3 International Shopping Alternative Forms of Payment if International Billing Address Not Accepted

So you’ve got a free U.S. shipping address. Now to make the purchase and have it sent to that destination. Except there’s one little problem. The U.S. retailer notices that you’re billing address is for another country, and they don’t accept international credit cards. Rather than cancel your order, consider one of these three alternatives.

Change the primary address with your credit card provider.

Credit card companies usually allow their customers to make changes to the billing address. If yours is like most and does, then you’ll want to use the free U.S. shipping address that you’ve obtained from our service. Many times you can try to run the transaction again with the very same card, and it goes through without issue. It’s definitely worth a try if you plan on doing a lot of online shopping from U.S. retailers.

When checking out, use a U.S. address for both mailing and billing.

In the rare case where you can’t change your credit card address to the U.S., consider utilizing your U.S. address as both the shipping and billing address at checkout. Some retailers feel more comfortable keeping business transactions to within the U.S., so they know that the funds are there in exchange for the shipment of items. As long as the charge goes through, they’re not going to do the extra legwork to find out if the billing address you provided is correct.

Consider more internationally friendly forms of payment that U.S. retailers accept.

The service that immediately comes to mind is Paypal. This payment processor has grown exponentially since the early 2000’s, and it is now accepted by thousands of U.S. retailers. The same store that may not accept your international credit card is generally fine with getting paid from a Paypal account that is funded by that very same card. What’s especially enjoyable about the Paypal shopping experience is that instead of having to enter your credit card information each and every time, you simply apply it to your Paypal account once and then checkout through Paypal for any purchases that you make online from one of the company’s retail partners. In addition to Paypal, you might also keep your eye on Google Wallet and Apple Pay. Both services are starting to pick up steam with retailers and could be viable forms of payment for your favorite stores in the near future.

It may seem unusual that some retailers are hesitant to take viable forms of payment simply because of where those forms of payment are from, but it’s the reality when it comes to international shoppers and online purchases from the U.S. Fortunately, PuntoMio has alternatives that won’t hinder your shopping experience.

What are some of your common questions, concerns, or annoyances regarding the checkout process for online shopping in the U.S.? We’d love to answer any questions that you may have. Feel free to contact us through the comments section, and we’ll see if we can help!