Banks and Fintechs Collaborate to Simplify Cross-Border Payments

The global nature of business and banking had already been expanding at a rapid rate, even before the pandemic further emphasized the need for simple and secure, contactless cross-border transactions. And yet, cross-border payments continue to be a pain point for the industry. According to a recent study conducted by Visa, the global commercial payment flow represents over $120 trillion annually with $10 trillion of that being processed cross-border – rounded out with $90 trillion in domestic AP/AR and $20 trillion in card-based payments.

The same survey revealed that 59% of respondents expect overall revenue from cross-border payments to significantly increase in the next 5 years. Correspondent banks, the traditional processors of cross-order payments, operate under a bi-lateral relationship structure which often limits the visibility and transparency into transactions – often requiring an actual visit into a branch to get the full view into status on international payments. This can make for a cumbersome process that can also be expensive and slow.

But that’s changing as the market demands a cross-border transaction experience that is closer to what they are used to in their personal – and ever more increasingly – in their business transactions. Alan Koeningsberg, Global Head of New Payment Flows at Visa Business Solutions explains this phenomenon as the ‘consumerization of B2B payments. “It’s incredible to see how much innovation is taking place on the consumer side and how that is bleeding into the B2B space.”

That very influence is a catalyst for banks and fintechs to collaborate with the goal of simplifying cross-border payments through technological innovation.

Hear the full story of how Visa and Bottomline partner together to solve these pain points and provide a scalable, low cost, and easy to use solution for cross border payments. Join Alan Koenigsberg, Global Head of New Payment Flows at Visa Business Solutions, and Rob Eberle, CEO of Bottomline, as they discuss the latest developments in cross-border payments, including how these partnerships are bringing new options into the market, on the latest episode of The Payments Podcast, "Visa and Bottomline Discuss the Evolution and Outlook for Cross-Border Payments"

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