Case Studies

TRACT Optics Sets Sights on Global Growth with Help from BlueSnap, Powered by Payroc

“The fact that BlueSnap offers, let’s call it white-glove service, means a lot. We're pulled in a lot of different directions. So having one person you can call for all our stores is fantastic.”

Jon Allen, Co-Founder, TRACT Optics

Who Is TRACT Optics?

When Jon Allen and Jon LaCorte left Nikon in 2015 to found TRACT Optics, a manufacturer and seller of high-performance optics, their goal was to become the go-to source for high-end, high-quality optics for recreation and hunting. They now sell scopes and binoculars for hunting, birding and outdoor enthusiasts direct to the consumer with no middleman and no retail mark-up. TRACT strives to ensure the highest level of customer satisfaction by providing the best quality products and service without excessive retail markup.

The Challenge

As TRACT was growing their business and expanding into Canada, Australia and South Africa, the company was facing rising transaction costs. They replatformed their website to BigCommerce, powered by Commerce, in 2024, to gain better control over the website and customer experience, and they needed to solve their payment challenges.

Without an affordable way to offer local payments to all their customers, they were risking their international growth.

They were accepting international payments through PayPal, which was expensive, clunky, and impaired the customer experience. “PayPal was the only payment solution we had for the other countries,” says Allen. “The customer could still make a purchase without a PayPal account, but it was not a good checkout experience. We also tried another credit card processing company to help us overcome the hurdle of not having banks in those countries while still needing to process credit cards, but it didn’t work.”

TRACT needed a payment solution that could better support the global business they were becoming with the ability to localize checkouts that enhance customer experience.

Their growing international presence demanded a smarter international payment strategy that could manage multi-currency processing, lower fees, and simplify cross-border transactions.

The Solution

Seeing how critical growing globally was to TRACT’s ongoing success, BigCommerce referred Allen and LaCorte to BlueSnap, powered by Payroc, for their cross-border payment capabilities.

BlueSnap’s unique approach to international payments is the growth enabler TRACT needs to realize their success as an international eCommerce site. BlueSnap’s BigCommerce integration is the only payment option that can support TRACT’s multi-storefront operation with:

“Because of what BlueSnap offers internationally, they were the only one BigCommerce suggested,” says Allen. “BlueSnap was integral for us, because we weren’t able to take credit cards in those other countries. The team came along and provided a solution that was fantastic for us to help us in our growth.”

While TRACT was originally looking at BlueSnap to support their international sites, they were so impressed with BlueSnap’s capabilities they decided to switch to BlueSnap for all their payment needs.

The Results

International expansion, significantly lower fees, and confidence that their payment processing can support their business – that’s what TRACT has gained by choosing BlueSnap as their payments partner. And now they can take advantage of these features that continue to fuel company’s growth:

Multi-Currency Capabilities

“The credit card process is kind of the unsung hero [of online retail],” says Allen. “If everything’s running smoothly, payment providers don’t ever get any praise. That’s the thing consumers expect when they check out: a quick and seamless process.”

BlueSnap’s multi-currency payment capabilities allow TRACT to offer a localized checkout experience to customers no matter where they are located, reducing checkout abandonment by ensuring a better customer experience.

Better International Payment Processing

Allen noted that American retailers have had a challenging past 12 months, making it more important than ever for businesses to save money where they can. “BlueSnap made a number of claims about the cost being more advantageous for us because of what BlueSnap charges versus the higher international fees we were paying,” explains Allen, and it all came true.

Switching to BlueSnap gives TRACT greater savings on processing fees than they’d previously had on their cross-border transactions. With TRACT’s legal entities in the US, Canada, and South Africa, and BlueSnap’s global network of banks, the company can process more of its payments with local acquiring. This increases their authorization rates and decreases costs, positively impacting the bottom line.

Customer Support

“Jon and I are very quick to mention we are low-tech,” Allen says. “We know optics, but when it comes to integrating software, we need help. I don’t want to exaggerate, but BlueSnap made it very simple to use. They made the implementation process quick and easy.”

Of course, implementation is just the start. The BlueSnap team continues to support TRACT with troubleshooting.

“It’s stressful when we have a live chat with a customer in Canada or Australia trying to check out, and they can’t,” says Allen. “We feel uninformed and it’s difficult to provide a solution.”

BlueSnap goes through each of TRACT’s stores to test the checkout and to be sure everything is operating correctly. And, in those instances where an issue does come up, BlueSnap’s Payments Experts and support team respond and resolve quickly.

“Let me ask you a question,” says Allen. “When’s the last time on an online company, they gave you their phone number and wanted to be contacted? It’s impossible. A lot of these third-party softwares you use to be an online retailer, they don’t want to talk to you. They want you to do your own homework on their website or talk to a bot. I think the fact that BlueSnap offers, let’s call it white-glove service, means a lot.”

“We’re pulled in a lot of different directions. So having one person you can call for all our stores is fantastic.”

BlueSnap’s commitment to customer support ensures that TRACT can focus on its global growth, while BlueSnap handles the complexities of international payment processing behind the scenes.