While political uprisings around the world are making headlines, another less visible revolution is also underway. This turmoil crosses national borders and occurs at the intersection of payments and e-commerce. The old regime was characterized by a relatively small number of large merchants processing a large number of transactions in the country. The “insurgency” is being driven by an increasing number of small traders located around the world. And the volume is increasing at an initial rate. Unfortunately, legacy payment infrastructures are unable to efficiently manage the global aspects of these changing economies. With the help of Yuval Tal and his company, Payoneer, this is rapidly changing.

This new world order is fueled by industries including mobile apps, independent outsourcing, games, and outlets like the iTunes® store. Made up primarily of individuals and small teams, these smaller merchants and developers represent the “democratization” of modern e-commerce. If this revolution were limited to one country, the transition to the new model would be relatively smooth, as payment infrastructures within developed countries tend to be robust. When we start looking at underdeveloped nations, and cross-border transactions in general, the efficiencies quickly fall apart.

Take the United States as an example. There are three robust payment platforms in this nation: i) credit card companies (namely Visa®, MasterCard® and American Express®), ii) the federal banking system with paper and electronic checks (ACH), and iii) PayPal – the predominant alternative payment network. Note that historically only the last two have been used to pay merchants. We’ll see momentarily how Yuval Tal, Payoneer and the branded prepaid debit card are changing this. Now consider a native US app developer who sells their products on platforms like iTunes. For this developer, getting paid is easy. Most app stores will tend to remit payment by ACH because it’s extremely cheap.

Most developed nations enjoy the same basic infrastructure with a few subtle differences. Getting paid in the country is relatively simple, with multiple options at different costs. In developed countries, such as the “G7” nations, suppliers may be paid by direct debit or by bank transfer. PayPal and more localized alternative payments also exist in most of these countries. Vendors and sales platforms often arrive at a payment option based on cost and convenience.

Now, let’s take the case where the developer and the sales platform are in different countries. Suddenly, the payment options become much more limited and have a lot to do with the sophistication of the banking systems within the respective countries. Generally speaking, it has always been possible to send payments by bank transfer. Unfortunately, this method can be time consuming and expensive. Typically, both payer and payee incur a fee, and these fees tend to be much more expensive than ACH (in the US) and direct deposit elsewhere. Also, in some countries, the settlement of a bank transfer can take up to 10 days. But what about sending payments to suppliers in countries with less developed or more restrictive banking systems?

“When you talk about the democratization of e-commerce, the last places you probably think of are China and Russia, former bastions of anti-capitalism,” says Payoneer CEO Yuval Tal. “Interestingly, both areas are becoming major players in the digital world.” It is widely accepted that Russia and China have developed a reputation for producing some of the best educated software engineers in the world. Many of these engineers write mobile apps and freelance their skills to companies around the world.

Getting paid in these countries has not necessarily been so simple. Of course, making payments in the country has always been the easiest. Although not as developed as the US or the EC, these banking systems are capable of processing paper checks and various types of electronic interbank payments within the country. But what about cross-border transactions? Nature is said to abhor a vacuum, and this can be seen in both China and Russia. Alternative payment systems like Alipay in China and, to some extent, WebMoney in Russia are trying to fill the gap. Both are leading “third party” payment companies within their respective countries, and both are trying to increase their cross-border functionality.

Competition for international remittances is heating up, and credit card associations like Visa and MasterCard may well have the biggest advantage. “Why should digital providers and merchants spend money to build a robust international remittance solution when an existing network can easily do the job?” ask Tal? “Why install 15 square miles of copper phone lines when you can install a cell tower?” The card brands offer a sophisticated and well-developed financial network. People like Yuval Tal have tapped into this network to create reloadable prepaid debit card programs that make it possible and affordable for providers to receive payments with their own debit cards, regardless of where they live. These cards can be used to withdraw cash in local currency at millions of ATMs around the world. They can also be used to purchase goods and services from merchants who accept the marks.

The democratization of e-commerce is underway, and the international payment infrastructure to support it is fast following. Traditional bank payments are giving way to third-party alternatives. So it should come as no surprise that the likes of Yuval Tal, his company, Payoneer, and the ubiquitous debit card can offer the cheapest and most convenient solution of all.