Security and transparency matter most for low-value cross-border payments

Security and transparency are the most critical factors when sending money internationally, according to a global survey by SWIFT, which polled 7,000 small businesses and consumers on attitudes to low-value cross-border payments. Security was named as the key driver in selecting a payments provider by both consumers and SMEs, closely followed by trust (for consumers) and transparency of fees (for SMEs). Transparency was deemed very important to both groups, and around 70% of consumers and SMEs said they would not use a payment provider again if they experienced hidden fees. Hidden fees evoked a stronger reaction among both groups than a payment not arriving.

SWIFT’s research found that customers overwhelmingly look to banks first when making an international payment – confirmed by 87% of SMEs and 81% of consumers – but also reinforced how competitive the market has become. Three-quarters of those surveyed said they would consider using a different provider if they matched the offer they get from a bank, fintech or other provider today.

While customers value speed, it is not at the expense of security and transparency. The study found that 79% of consumers and 76% of SMEs expect an international payment to be completed within one hour or less. Only 24% of consumers and 15% of SMEs expect payments to be instant, but expectations for speed are likely to increase as more domestic market infrastructures move to instant payments.

The study also found notable variations in responses from customers in different countries. Consumers in Saudi Arabia and Australia are more concerned with the impact of FX conversion when making international payments than those in other nations, while SMEs in Germany place particular importance on the integration of payment processes into other tools, such as accounting software.

 

Lloyds Bank inks sustainability-linked FX agreement with Jet2

Lloyds Bank has completed a sustainability-linked FX agreement to support UK leisure travel company Jet2’s decarbonisation ambitions. The agreement should help Jet2 achieve its goal of reducing its gCO2 emissions per passenger kilometre travelled. This measure, the standard sustainability metric used within the aviation industry, will be calculated using third-party verified carbon emissions data.

Lloyds Bank has recently worked with Jet2 on its sustainable finance journey, including a refinance of its existing revolving credit facility to transition to a sustainability-linked loan last year.

“The aviation industry is working hard on options to reduce its carbon footprint,” commented Mark Buxton, Director of Group Finance and Treasury at Jet2. “Together with our recent agreement with Airbus to acquire up to 146 Airbus A321/A320 neo-fuel-efficient aircraft and an equity investment made to secure SAF supply from a UK-based production plant, working closely with our banking partners is another of the many important components of our journey to Net Zero by 2050.”

 

Bottomline launches fraud prevention for payers

Bottomline has announced the launch of Pay.UK’s Payer Name Verification service, offered through Bottomline Payments Services. This is designed to provide businesses with greater assurance that payments are being collected from the named account holder when processing Direct Debits.

Payer Name Verification is an expansion of Pay.UK’s Confirmation of Payee (CoP) name-checking service for UK-based payments, which launched in 2020. The CoP service has been implemented by over 80 UK banks, building societies and other payment service providers (PSPs).

The new service confirms the bank account details provided belong to the named business or individual, giving companies greater confidence that the Direct Debit is being set up by the actual account holder, helping to lower the risk of an indemnity claim. 

 

EnKash launches platform for payables, receivables and reconciliation

Spend management platform EnKash has launched a solution that automates business payables and receivables. The platform, Olympus, is focused on startups and small to midsize businesses and comes with plug-and-play integration capability that sits atop a business’s existing accounting and ERP software. The firm says businesses can onboard themselves with a two-step process without disrupting their accounting, policies, processes and banking relationships.

Olympus automates repetitive manual processes such as transaction entries, bank reconciliation, payment management, collection management, expense tracking, and invoice management. EnKash says that current beta customers have reported more than 40% improvement in their processes, bringing close to 50% overall cost savings. Another essential aspect reported by customers is mitigating risk and fraud in their business transactions, as Olympus only onboard validated buyers and suppliers and can auto-flag whenever there is a mismatch. 

Customers can use the platform to dispatch bulk invoices and attach payment links through a single click. Olympus handles the entire collection cycle, from invoice delivery to payment reminders to real-time reverse entry into the accounting software for online and offline transactions. Smart algorithms integral to the platform stack intelligently solve complex reconciliation and reporting tasks. The platform enables real-time multi-bank reconciliation, while businesses can set up customised approval matrices to expedite payment approvals without compromising transparency and internal compliance.

 

HSBC Innovation Banking UK backs Modifi with US$100m facility

Modifi, a global cross-border business payments company, has secured a US$100m debt facility with HSBC Innovation Banking UK to further growth.

The partnership with HSBC Innovation Banking is a crucial component of Modifi’s refinancing strategy, aimed at diversifying its funding sources with quality capital providers. The payment firm recently closed a US$75m debt facility with another global financial institution.

“There is a growing need for innovative solutions that remove barriers, increase transparency and enable small and midsize businesses to trade on a par with larger corporates,” commented Conor Sheehy, Head of Fintech Warehouse Finance at HSBC Innovation Banking UK. 

 

Pay.UK and Iliad Solutions to support NPA payments testing

Iliad Solutions has announced the general release of its T3 test and certification platform for the UK’s New Payments Architecture (NPA). The solution is used in pre-certification mode to underpin the Pay.UK self-validation testing. The general release is further enhanced to integrate and simulate the back-end systems that financial institutions use to interoperate with NPA. This results in a fully automated end-to-end solution.

The testing platform is being offered as an option by Iliad so financial institutions wishing to join NPA can onboard safely, securely and self-certify in the testing process. NPA will be the most significant upgrade UK payment systems have seen in a generation. As such, Pay.UK’s testing strategy has been designed to support the programme, ensuring that the NPA framework can be validated across the entire ecosystem.

Iliad’s testing option forms part of an ongoing partnership between Pay.UK and Iliad Solutions, with both parties previously collaborating on Faster Payments and Confirmation of Payee (CoP), the name-checking service for UK-based real-time payments.

 

ConnexPay launches real-time European B2B payments in GBP, EUR

Payments technology company ConnexPay has added pounds sterling and euros to its offering. The company has operated for years in the European market, but this release allows European companies the flexibility to receive and send payments in their native currencies.

ConnexPay’s platform allows merchants immediate access to incoming customer payments, which they can use in real-time to fund virtual cards to pay suppliers. This means businesses no longer have to wait for incoming payments to clear before accessing those funds, which could take days to weeks, causing cash flow problems for a company’s entire supply chain. In addition, ConnexPay’s payments solution integrates fraud prevention and chargeback management, plus a fully-featured reporting and analytics suite.

The company already has many international customers who now add the ability to transact in GBP and EUR. Enabling them to issue in multiple currencies globally is vital to these businesses, and there are a host of additional global companies that will be implementing ConnexPay’s solution and going live this month.

 

Starling Bank selects Napier’s compliance platform

Napier, a London-based intelligent compliance technology company, has been selected as the AML/CTF technology platform for UK digital challenger bank Starling. Napier will provide its Transaction Screening solution from the Napier Continuum platform to Starling Bank.

Starling chose Napier because of the platform’s technology and performance, noting its deployment flexibility and speed of deployment, testing, and tuning. No code configuration is required, and APIs can easily integrate the solution.