Cuba is resourceful. We have seen it in the classic 1950sAmerican cars Cubans have managed to keep on the road despite lackof new parts. This is just one high profile example of how Cubanshave worked hard to compete with limited resources.

When President Obama visited Cuba earlier this year, he pulledback a curtain that had been closed for more than half a century,revealing a vibrant, resourceful economy eager to do business withthe United States. President Obama’s visit cleared the way for thisone-time pariah nation to normalize relations with the U.S.

On his trip, the president was joined by e-commerceprofessionals, with payment processing service Stripe quicklyannouncing that they would be serving Cuban tech start-ups. BigU.S. companies like Netflix and Airbnb are also now trading inCuba, paving the way for technology to transform the way in whichthe country is accessed by its citizens and consumers.

While full diplomatic relations are still a ways off, signalsfrom both countries have raised the ecommerce industry’sexpectations around future trade and the lifting of the currentembargo between the United States and Cuba. Its clear resourceswithin Cuba will be less of an issue and that American companiesare looking to gain a foothold into a market with 11 million peopleand a rapidly growing tourism economy.

The electronic payments industry has a real opportunity to be atthe forefront of Cuba’s e-commerce revolution, helping businessesto try out new ways of trading with customers. This isn’t justbuilding on what’s been working – the opportunity here is to buildan infrastructure that need not rely on legacy systems. Justbecause Cubans know how to make a car from the 1950s run fordecades doesn’t mean this spirit should limit them to building onwhat exists. The opportunity is here to create something new thatwill put Cuba’s e-commerce foundation in place for decades.

An increase in e-commerce and electronic card payments into Cubaalso means an increase in fraud. From our Q2 Cybercrime Report issued last month, Cuba already ranks inthe top 50 as a cyberattack originator. Even though there’s enoughof an infrastructure for cybercrime to exist in Cuba, the trueopportunities are there for placing proper infrastructure in placeto both prevent attacks and for merchants to accommodate travelersand international commerce. Success will be measured by Cuba’sability to quickly mature its electronic payment structure with21st century fraud prevention in place, ensuring internationalvisitors don’t go from being welcome to becoming victims of paymentcard fraud or identity theft.

For Cuba to thrive, there are many aspects that will need to bein place:

Infrastructure improvements: Cuba’s broadband,mobile and WiFi networks are almost nonexistent, with currentaccess limited for the public and businesses. This state controlover technology poses current difficulties in helping Cuba toposition itself as a digital nation, particularly when access tothe internet is limited and when available, too costly for theaverage Cuban to afford.

Regulations: The government heavily monitorsCuba’s infrastructure and terms of employment for Cuban citizens.Self-employment is strictly regulated, and these barriers wouldneed to be removed in order to encourage the e-commerce industry ofboth nations to flourish.

Embracing and defining digital identity:E-commerce can play a leading role in shaping Cuba’s digitalidentity infrastructure and help to establish a start-up communitywithin the country. The establishment of a common language anddigital currency would need to happen before real business couldbegin, but with a nation hungry for change, investment in Cuba’sdigital identity infrastructure through e-commerce would be a greatopportunity for U.S. businesses.

Safety and security assurances: The e-commercesector needs to ensure that trading with Cuba is safe, andcompanies like ThreatMetrix are leading the way for securetransactions through best practices and a global sharedintelligence network. With features like authentication, fraudprevention and threat detection, businesses can be safe in theknowledge that transactions would not put their livelihood at risk.When Cuba’s gates fully open for American visitors, they will needto quickly introduce 2017 sensibilities into an infrastructure thatpre-dates the 1960s.

Government support: Through measures like theCuban Assets Control Regulations, companies are now able to processauthorized transactions and activities related to other financialservices with support and safety assurances from the U.S.government.

Encouraging cross-border transactions: In ahealthy national economy, tourism dollars and cross-bordertransactions represent approximately 10% of GDP. Americans’curiosity with Cuba, combined with the country’s already globalperception as an idyllic tourism destination gives it a leg up onother countries that have been closed off from the rest of theworld. For Cuba to convert this curiosity into sustainability willrequire empowering merchants with the right tools forauthentication and fraud prevention.

We’re already seeing businesses scramble to serve visitorscoming into Cuba. Serving Cuba will also require empowering Cubanmerchants.

In 2014, as President Obama was testing the trade waters withCuba, he said, “We have the opportunity to influence the course ofevents at a time when there’s going to be some generational changein that country.”

The private sector is pushing for more normalization to givemore tangible benefits to the people of Cuba as well as businessesentering Cuba. This represents an unprecedented opportunity for anation to enter the world stage in a way that converts positiveimages of ingenuity and resourcefulness to a world-class approach.Change is going to happen in Cuba. The opportunity is here to makethat change a powerful, sustainable one.

Armen Najarian is CMO of ThreatMetrix. He can bereached at [email protected] or on Twitterat @armennajarian.