B2B International Payments: A Comparison of New vs. Traditional Methods

International payments, especially in the B2B space, can be incredibly cumbersome. Legacy systems are handling an increasing number of payments and remittance transfers, but are often overburdened. Consumer and business expectations have changed, and these systems are failing to deliver. There’s an urgent need for smoother transactions across borders. Total cross-border payments amount to more than $127 trillion worldwide. Are older systems, including ones that most banks depend on even today, capable of handling the massive demand?

Trends in the International Payments Market

The global cross-border payment landscape is driving trends that could fundamentally alter competitive dynamics:

• Changing guidelines on regulations and sanctions
• Growing pressure from new technologies like DLT and card-related innovations
• Advancing international commerce in retail and corporate segments
• Evolving customer demands

Additionally, new firms in the cross-border market are putting pressure on incumbents. It is important to note how cryptocurrency is slowly gaining traction and how it’s rapidly transcending geographical and currency-limited boundaries.

With shifting economic trends, migration, and the rise of international commerce, the size of the cross-border payments market is growing. Despite banks currently dominating cross-border payments with a significant market share, their transfers still lack transparency, have high fees, and encounter delays. Due to such long-standing inefficiencies, customers are actively exploring alternatives. Fortunately, Bill.com, a leader in financial process automation, or players like Ripple, a FinTech blockchain startup, are ready to solve for these challenges. Finablr is also a company to watch, as they are reshaping the B2B cross-border payments space. T ...