Great food, great company, and even better conversation. Last week, we had the pleasure of co-hosting a dinner in Berlin with our partners at Worldpay, bringing together leaders and experts from across the subscription industry.

This dinner was part of our What’s Next Series, where we gather industry experts to connect, share ideas, and tackle the biggest trends and challenges facing subscriptions today.

Expanding globally is a top priority for many, but it’s not as simple as flipping a switch. It’s a journey filled with ups and downs, from navigating local payment preferences to understanding cultural nuances.

The key takeaway from our evening’s discussion? You can’t do it alone. Success hinges on having the right strategy, the right technology, and — most importantly — the right partners by your side.

Here are a few of the key strategies we discussed for taking your subscription business global.

Think local to win global

One of the biggest themes of the night was the idea of localization. And no, that doesn't just mean translating your website. True localization is about tailoring the entire subscriber experience to feel native to each new market you enter.

This means adapting everything from your pricing and promotional offers to fit local economic conditions, to smaller details like using the correct date formats on invoices. It’s about showing customers you understand their world. For example, a checkout page that feels familiar and trustworthy to a subscriber in Amsterdam might look very different from one designed for a subscriber in Tokyo.

This is where a flexible subscription platform becomes essential. With Recurly, businesses have the agility to easily customize plans, pricing, and checkout flows for specific regions, ensuring the experience resonates with local customers and builds trust from the very first interaction.

Make payments a path, not a problem

When you’re operating globally, your payment strategy can either be your greatest asset or your biggest bottleneck. A failed payment isn’t just a lost sale; it can damage a customer’s trust in your brand and decrease their lifetime value: 61% of businesses report direct revenue loss from failed payments, and 53% say it damages the subscriber relationship.

The solution is to offer a diverse range of payment options that cater to local preferences. While credit cards are common, digital wallets, direct debits, and other local methods are often preferred.  In fact, 42% of consumers walk away from a purchase if they can’t use their payment method of choice.

This is where the power of partnership really comes into play. By integrating with leading payment gateways like Worldpay, you can process payments in over 135 countries and accept a wide variety of methods. 

This approach not only provides the payment flexibility customers expect but also reduces transaction failures and eliminates costly cross-border fees. It turns a potential point of friction into a smooth, reliable experience that keeps subscribers happy.

Find partners who know the way

If there was one overarching message from our dinner conversation, it was this: partnership is the engine of global growth. No single company can be an expert in every market. Expanding successfully requires a network of partners who can provide local expertise and the right technology.

Mature businesses understand this well — our research with Hanover shows they are significantly more likely to use partnerships to acquire new subscribers. This means finding on-the-ground partners who understand the local market, as well as technology partners who provide the scalable infrastructure needed to grow.

The Recurly and Worldpay partnership is built on this principle. Recurly provides a robust, flexible platform for managing subscriptions, while Worldpay provides the global payment expertise. Together, we create a foundation that allows businesses to focus on what they do best — delivering a great product — while we handle the complexities of recurring billing and payments across the globe.

Check this out: The essential guide for expanding your subscription business

Going global is better together

Expanding your business across borders is challenging, yet rewarding. Our dinner in Berlin reinforced that while the path may be complex, it’s not one you have to walk alone. With the right strategy and partners, you can navigate new markets with confidence and build lasting relationships with subscribers around the world.

And who knows? Your next great partnership could start over a conversation at one of our events.

Check out our events page to find a digital or in-person gathering near you.