Cross-border payments lack finality present in other payment schemes. They straddle multiple jurisdictions which are dependent on correspondent banking networks - leading to inconsistency, costs are not always transparent, and the reality of settlement to the beneficiary is not clear.
The G20 Roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments elaborates on progress being made across existing and emerging payment systems and arrangements. However, there remains room for creativity and optimisation beyond baseline technological improvements. Institutions must consider how they can, both individually and as players in regional ecosystems, identify and deliver improvements on top of ongoing infrastructure change.
The role of ISO 20022 in the modernisation of cross-border payments is well understood, and while it will continue to play a leading role, meeting the new messaging requirements will only take us so far. Financial institutions need to go beyond meeting new standards in order to effectively harmonise and leverage the opportunity available.
A connected cross-border ecosystem is emerging in the Middle East, which offers a unique example of their importance for building and maintaining one of the globe’s largest remittance corridors. Initiatives such as the Buna payment platform supporting multicurrency payments among members of the Arab Monetary Fund are essential in building regional hubs or trade agreements and developing competitive regional ecosystems.
Sign up for this Finextra webinar, hosted in association with Volante Technologies, to join our panel of industry experts as they discuss the following areas:
- What should cross-border payments look like in an ideal payments ecosystem?
- What are the fundamental challenges facing cross-border payments today? How can this be addressed in the short and long term?
- How does ISO 20022 migration impact the evolution of cross-border payments?
- How are regional hubs perfecting interoperability through cross-border payments?