Cross border payments

Swift is showing more swagger in its rivalry with Ripple thanks to progress it has made with a multifaceted payments-tracking technology called GPI.

Swift is showing more swagger in its rivalry with Ripple thanks to progress it has made with a multifaceted payments-tracking technology called GPI.

Global politics are dividing the world of e-commerce, forcing companies to make tough decisions about their strategies for the U.S., India and other regions.

Visa CEO Alfred Kelly said the company's earnings, though solid, could suffer if if politicians in Washington and London don’t resolve their biggest issues.

The deal between the U.S. bank and the U.K. software firm adds another potential payments rival for Swift, and the two companies will offer banking APIs to U.S. fintechs.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication is testing a link between e-commerce and trading platforms within its Global Payments Innovation network, with the first trial taking place on the Corda blockchain platform.

Few investors will have heard of Earthport Plc. But the company has just become the target in a bidding war between Mastercard Inc. and Visa Inc.

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication reports that its Global Payments Innovation system, which it launched two years ago, now handles more than a million payments a day.

Local payment methods cater to the technology and user-experience needs of specific regions, says Steve Villegas, vice president of partner management at PPRO.

As the payment industry continues to innovate and expand across borders, it increasingly will need to be mindful of data regulations requiring data localization that multiply the complexities and cost of creating a seamless data flow and user experience, Alston & Bird’s Richard Willis and Laura K. Song write.

U.S. companies have a leg up on international competition. Yet, many retailers are opting to focus on domestic customer bases, claims Steve Villegas, vice president of partner management at PPRO.

Ant Financial’s Alipay is deploying blockchain technology to power a cross-border remittance service for Pakistan’s Telenor Microfinance Bank and Valyou of Malaysia.

A director in the foreign-exchange department of American Express has been suspended, as the card brand continues to investigate pricing practices in that division of the company.

Wire transfers have higher fees and fraud risk than other methods, according to Chen Amit, CEO of Tipalti.

The market for cross-border person-to-person (P2P) remittances is massive. It experienced double-digit growth in 2018 as consumers migrated from one country to another in search of better economic opportunities, as well as to escape political and financial upheaval in their home countries.

China’s expanding number of tourists is creating demand for more payment choices, and Wirecard hopes to tap into the growth with a prepaid card it’s developed with Ctrip, China’s largest travel agency.

The National Bank of Kuwait is leveraging Ripple’s blockchain technology for a new cross-border payments service.

The U.S. fintech hopes its service will help encourage financial inclusion in Mexico, where 65 percent of the population is in the informal economy.

Visa has a deal to acquire the London-based bank payments provider Earthport for 198 million pounds ($250.6 million U.S.), pending approval from Earthport's shareholders.

The financial services and payments industries are aggressively trying to replace older systems with sleeker technology, but Swift has a separate goal in mind with the Global Payments Innovation system, or GPI.