• by Laurie Sullivan  @lauriesullivan, June 18, 2015

Point-of-sale hardware and payment service Ingenico said Thursday that it has begun work with Google on a new program called Export Accelerator, an initiative to help brands sell across borders, with the first pilot of the service in Belgium.

Export Accelerator will combine Google's search insights to identify exports opportunities that can help online businesses generate qualified traffic, with Ingenico's ability to convert the traffic into sales through its technology and experience in processing payments. Ingenico's experience resides in processing local payments, handling online fraud, enhanced payment data analysis and risk management.

"There are 11 million consumers in Belgium; the 2.5 billion potential consumers worldwide provide a huge export opportunity," estimates Thierry Geerts, country director Google Belgium, in a prepared statement. He said the collaboration with Ingenico will make it easier for Belgian businesses to tap the potential of a growing online consumer base.

Ingenico has its hand in a variety of electronic payment processing ventures such as Internet-connected vending machines, according to a Berg Insights analyst report published earlier this year. The company also works with agency business units like DigitasLBi Commerce to develop a hybrid plug-in module that integrates with its payment management system. Using the extension, retailers with commerce Web sites now have access to international and local payment methods offered by Ingenico Payment Services, managing all transactions from within their transaction dashboard.