As we have been pointing out on a regular basis, the cross-border payments space has been undergoing a facelift around traditional methods during the past couple of years, and in some cases some radical replacement surgery. The trend is most visible in B2B use cases, which we have estimated to represent more than 80% of commercial transactions in the space (which we define as remittance, bill pay, e-commerce, payables and payroll).
This particular release announces a partnership between Western Union Business Solutions and SWIFT, which involves the integration of the SWIFT gpi messaging solution with WU’s Mass Payments API, primarily targeted at the B2B space.
‘Increased currency support in its WU Mass Payments API enables Financial Institutions to expand their reach, improve efficiencies and transact in more currencies by integrating a flexible global payments network into their own product or service. WU Mass Pay enables a superior experience for recipients with built-in, real-time FX quotes. Partners can send up to 10,000 payments in over 130 currencies in a single batch with near real-time payment tracking, report functionality, and automated notification changes to payment status with the option to route payments over the Western Union Business Solutions global network….”We are continuously advancing our capabilities to give our clients the tools to access the growing global marketplace. Adding Swift GPI and expanding our currency portfolio within our Mass Payments API advances not only our competitive advantage but that of our customers,” said Scott Johnson, Head of Product at Western Union Business Solutions. “Customers expect, and now have, payments that are faster, traceable, transparent, consistent, and more reliable. We give them that, along with our global compliance program,” he said.’
It seems cross-border innovations just keep coming, and we expect that there will be numerous additional initiatives coming in the cross-border space over the next several years and we’ll keep you posted on developments.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group