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Insights and Expertise

This is especially true for businesses selling into emerging
markets. In regions where access to traditional banking
is limited, merchants often face lower conversion rates, The core problem isn't just the
longer delays and fewer reliable settlement options. number of payment methods.

But when infrastructure improves, and when it's built It's the way they connect. Legacy
around local context, these markets become far more systems often route payments
accessible and profitable.
through multiple intermediaries,
Open banking is helping remove unnecessary steps each adding delays, fees and risk..
by allowing licensed providers to connect directly to
customers' bank accounts. This can make payments
faster, cheaper and easier to verify. In some regions, open
banking is already being linked with domestic real-time That same principle applies to merchant settlements,
payment schemes to support direct account-to-account payouts and B2B flows.
transfers between countries.
Ultimately, the goal is to make cross-border payments
Digital wallets are also playing a big role. They're especially feel more like domestic ones. That means digitized, faster,
effective in mobile-first regions where many consumers more transparent and less expensive. It also means giving
don't have traditional bank accounts. Wallets that support businesses better visibility into where money is, when it
cross-border transactions can help merchants reach these will arrive and how much it will cost to get there.
customers more easily, offering faster settlement and more
flexible options at checkout. These details matter when you're managing cash flow,
serving international customers or working with suppliers
Blockchain is beginning to make its presence felt in across multiple markets.
settlement, particularly in B2B flows. Stablecoins and
permissioned ledgers are already being tested as a way to Another piece of this puzzle is education. Many
streamline clearing and improve visibility. businesses still hesitate to expand internationally because
of perceived complexity or uncertainty around payments.
These systems are still developing, but they offer a new The more providers can do to demystify the process,
way to handle cross-border transfers without relying on whether through clearer onboarding, better reporting
traditional clearing houses. tools or more transparent pricing, the easier it becomes to
build trust and scale globally.
The importance of systems working together

What matters now is how all of these technologies work There's also a growing need for partnerships that go
together. One system alone won't fix the complexity beyond just payment processing. Businesses are looking
merchants face. But better integration, between wallets, for solutions that combine local insight, technical reliability
APIs, settlement platforms and FX providers, can make a and regulatory understanding.
real difference.
The providers that can offer that end-to-end support will
Interoperability is a key challenge, especially when it be the ones who make cross-border payments not just
comes to connecting real-time systems across borders and possible, but sustainable and scalable in the long term. For
aligning regulatory and technical standards. merchants, that means fewer delays, clearer pricing and
broader reach. And for the wider ecosystem, it means a
We're also seeing infrastructure gaps narrow when foundation that supports fairer, more inclusive growth.
providers think locally. This means offering region-
specific payment methods, handling currency conversion The decisions being made today—about where to invest,
in-market and working with domestic partners who what systems to adopt and who to partner with—will
understand the regulatory environment. For merchants, shape what the cross-border experience looks like
that often translates to faster onboarding, better approval tomorrow. Merchants have more options than ever before.
rates and lower cost per transaction. And that means there's more opportunity than ever to get
it right.
Remittances show how this plays out at scale. In many
emerging markets, inbound remittances are a major Zaki Farooq is CTO and co-founder of PayFuture, www.payfuture.net,
source of income. Yet they're often expensive to send and the local payments connector for emerging markets. Contact him via
slow to arrive. When cross-border systems improve, more LinkedIn at linkedin.com/in/zakifarooq.
of that money reaches the people it's intended for, and it
arrives more quickly.

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