Payment Expert’s Fintech Unwrapped delivers the latest developing news that has shaped the sector over the course of the last week.
This week, Citi became the first bank to perform cross-border payments availability across multiple markets by launching on Swift’s payment scheme.
Also this week, Stripe has acquired another firm to support small businesses with extra credit options, Brite Payments launched in the UK to resolve checkout friction, Mambu partnered with Mastercard for a new cross-border payment service, and BNY launched a new function for digital wallets.
Citi connects to Swift to enable “real-time”, interoperable global payments
Citi became the first bank to access multiple markets via Swift’s payments scheme to allow its clients to perform multiple instant cross-border payments.
Through a single account, clients will not need to rely on several local banking rails or infrastructures, leveraging Swift’s global banking ecosystem to perform cross-border payments while also benefitting from real-time liquidity access.
Citi’s service is available to more than 12,500 financial institutions connected to Swift. Clients can access multiple domestic real-time payment networks through Swift without opening local bank accounts or deploying new local infrastructure.
Debopama Sen, Head of Payments Services at Citi, said: “The future of banking is real-time, always-on, and increasingly interconnected. Through our continued collaboration with Swift, we’re helping banks connect to instant payment capabilities across multiple markets through a seamless and scalable model.
“Combined with Citi’s global network, this initiative enhances speed, transparency, and reach while helping clients meet evolving expectations for how money moves. We’re proud to continue working with Swift to help advance the future of global payments.”
Stripe’s latest acquisition bolsters embedded finance unit
Stripe is looking to serve more merchants with embedded finance solutions after announcing it has acquired Parafin.
The embedded finance firm has more than 60,000 business customers, such as DoorDash and Gusto, and will work alongside Stripe to bring new credit offerings to small businesses.
Alongside its core offerings, Parafin’s credit products, Pay Over Time and Spend, will give businesses more flexibility in how they manage cash flow.
Neetika Bansal, Business Lead at Stripe, said: “Platforms power millions of small businesses throughout the world and are central to Stripe’s mission.
“Sahill, Vineet, and the Parafin team bring acute expertise and leadership in credit, risk, and embedded financial products. Together, we’ll be able to offer a wider range of credit products to a larger ecosystem and increase credit access for high-growth businesses.”
Brite’s UK launch to address ‘checkout rage’
Brite Payments has launched in the UK after being granted an electronic money institute licence from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).
The instant payments company will begin to rollout its Pay by Bank open banking-powered methods to businesses and merchants in the UK, seeking to streamline the checkout experience for consumers.
A Brite survey found amongst 2,000 UK adults, 47% suffer ‘checkout rage’ while 24% have abandoned a purchase altogether due to returns anxiety. Furthermore, one in five adults have ended a relationship with a merchant due to a poor checkout experience.
Brite Payments CEO and Founder, Lena Hackelöer, is aiming to address this in its market debut.
“The UK is one of the most mature open banking markets in the world, but it’s been dominated by overseas card networks and reliance on legacy providers built for a single market,” said Hackelöer. “Both merchants and consumers are not just losing out, but are actively impacted, as our survey results show.”
Mambu seeks cross-border efficiency with Mastercard
Mambu will connect to Mastercard’s global money movement service, Mastercard Move, to enable easy access for its clients to offer secure cross-border payments.
The collaboration sees Mambu utilise its cloud-native core banking and payments platforms to orchestrate cross-border payments at scale by integrating Mastercard Move, accelerating time to market.
This will enable financial institutions to offer cross-border payment capabilities within digital banking journeys to create a more seamless customer experience.
Pratik Khowala, Global Head of Transfer Solutions, Mastercard, said: “Despite advances in digital payments, moving money across borders remains complex and fragmented, with people and businesses expecting greater speed, transparency and certainty.
“Mastercard Move combines global reach with trusted money movement capabilities to help financial institutions meet those expectations.”
BNY supports digital wallets with Pay-to-Wallet function
BNY is enabling Pay-to-Wallet by using the Swift payment messaging and baking infrastructure for retail digital wallets.
BNY’s Pay-to-Wallet solution combines its global payments capabilities, including its USD clearing network and 24/7/365 processing capabilities, to support cross-border bank-to-wallet payments in approved markets and corridors.
The capability provides banks with tools to meet growing client demand for Pay-to-Wallet services without having to build their own technology infrastructure and reducing implementation complexity and time-to-market concerns.
Fabian Khoshbakht, Head of Global Payments & Trade, APAC at BNY, said: “Digital wallets are becoming central to the cross-border payments landscape particularly in wallet-led markets across Asia Pacific and other high-growth corridors.
“To meet this growing demand, banks need capabilities they can deploy without having to build layers of integration with wallet providers. BNY’s enablement of a Pay-to-Wallet capability provides a practical and scalable way to support payments from bank accounts to participating digital wallets through trusted existing infrastructure, making it faster and easier for participating banks to access digital wallet payment flows.”
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