Cross border payments

The Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication (Swift) has issued a preliminary report stating blockchain can make cross-border payments more efficient.

Mike Kennedy is OFX's new president for North America, providing more local digital payment experience for the Australian-based international transfer company.

Canadian startup Payment Rails, which aims to use APIs, blockchain and artificial intelligence to find efficient routes for cross-border payments, has closed a seed round bringing funding for its concept to $1.1 million.

Payments services provider INTL FCStone is offering a real-time exchange rate feed for its corporate customers to better calculate the cost of cross-border payments.

Bank of Ireland's quest to offer a faster path for cross-border payments has fed the sort of collaboration that's becoming more common as issuers seek to advance their technology.

International payments will only get more complex as faster payments take hold globally, steering banks and money movers to establish central hubs for handling cross-border transactions.

International sourcing is stressing businesses that are already too reliant on paper-based payment methods, argues Hyperwallet's Tomas Likar.

Alipay has entered agreements with Nordic trade and tourism institutions to further enable merchants in that region to accept payments from Chinese customers through Alipay's in-app marketing program.

An integration with transfer company bux will remove navigation and manual processes for remittances to India.

Alipay has worked with First Data, Verifone, Ingenico and others to connect with merchants in North America, but more as a service for Chinese travelers than a direct competitor to existing payment providers.