Cross border payments

dLocal, whose clients include Amazon and Uber, is trying to build a global transaction network amid a heightened awareness of "payments sovereignty." Yang Yang Zhang, dLocal's new APAC head, spoke with American Banker about how the firm is managing the pressure.

Firms like Nium and Amex GBT are using virtual cards and agentic commerce to take a crack at easing the complicated processes involved in business trips.

Correspondent banking has been around since the 14th century, when Italian merchant-banking houses used a network of partner banks and agents to settle trade debts without physically shipping coins, and has since become vital infrastructure to facilitate global payments. Today, digital assets are challenging some of the economics that have supported correspondent banking.

The two banks are among the early bank adopters of a Swift standard that's designed to support near instant payments and serve as an alternative to stablecoins.

Amid competition for international transfers, the U.S. is taking baby steps to facilitate faster, more efficient transactions.

The payment network, which posts second-quarter results next week, noted localized boosts in payment volume near match sites in cities such as Boston, New York and Guadalajara.

The bank reports an increase in spending in host cities and in restaurants, along with an early read on the role of agentic AI.

By establishing direct connections to clearing networks such as Japan's central bank, the cross-border payment firm avoids intermediaries, feeding its strategy to undercut traditional financial institutions.

Bangkok-based The Siam Commercial Bank will use the New York-based bank's 24/7 clearing and tokenized deposit service in a sign that the banking industry is beginning to look past individual tokenized deposit platforms and toward interoperability.

Just as internet connectivity destroyed the market for long-distance telephone service, blockchain technology is going to make high-margin transactions, like cross-border funds transfers, dirt cheap. Established players should brace themselves.

Wise grew its net revenue 19% year over year to $2.5 billion in its fiscal 2026, aided by increased deposits, cross-border volume and spending on the Wise card. It's the latest sign that interest in cross-border payments and multicurrency accounts is heating up.

The company's forthcoming stablecoin, PAYO-USD, is designed to spur increased transaction volume revenue rather than interest income on reserves, a model championed by most stablecoin issuers.

Analysts say Payoneer is an attractive addition in a market where fast-moving developments in international payments, AI and digital assets are pressuring payment companies to scale quickly.

The domestic focus of most instant settlement rails is evolving toward cross-border, creating an opportunity for the bank to approach corporate clients.

Belgian prosecutors say they're finalizing charges over €500 million in suspect transactions. Wise calls the case, like its U.S. run-ins, a routine matter.

Whether red or blue, leaders share an affinity for battling fintech giants, as the liberal mayor is pressuring regulators to scuttle Western Union's plan to buy digital transfer Intermex, shortly following PayPal's 'DEI settlement' with the Trump administration.

The B2B payments fintech contends the digital asset can wring inefficiencies out of corporate payments processing.

The card network, which reported earnings on Thursday, reports some early impacts on travel payments, and has set up a site to help customers with questions about changes in consumer and business spending habits.

Tether launches a wallet, Rain issues a crypto card and MoneyGram extends stablecoin services in El Salvador. That and more in American Banker's global payments and fintech roundup.

The international messaging network is attempting to standardize consumers' cross-border payment experience as other payment rails such as Visa Direct, Mastercard Send and stablecoins pressure the correspondent banking system.