Latest news with #internationalpayments
Finextra
4 hours ago
- Business
- Finextra
BMO adds new currency routes to nearly 70 destinations across Europe
Mastercard and BMO today announced an expansion of BMO's Global Money Transfer service, powered by Mastercard Move's global money movement capabilities. 0 With the addition of new destinations and currencies, BMO's Canadian personal banking clients will now be able to reach family and friends in nearly 70 destinations across Europe, the Middle East, Africa, Asia Pacific, Latin America and the Caribbean. BMO Global Money Transfer is a cornerstone of its everyday banking services, supporting clients' worldwide financial needs with security and 24/7 access through its Mobile Banking app. Mastercard Move enables financial institutions and their customers to easily send money to over 200 destinations in over 150 currencies, reaching over 10 billion endpoints, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, cards, and pick up locations, quickly, conveniently, and securely. The Mastercard-BMO collaboration deepens both companies' commitments to powering secure and cost-effective solutions to meet the growing demand for international payment solutions for Canadians. 'BMO is committed to helping our clients make real financial progress, and our expanded Global Money Transfer service embodies that commitment by helping them stay connected to what matters most: their families, friends, and financial commitments worldwide,' said Gayle Ramsay, Head of Everyday Banking, Segment & Customer Growth at BMO. 'Together with Mastercard, we're proud to provide a service through Mastercard Move that's fast, secure, and tailored for the needs of our clients in Canada.' Extending Reach, Connecting Communities Remittances remain vital for many in developing destinations, where funds are used to support family education, property payments, and other critical expenses. Through Mastercard Move, BMO clients can send money directly to the recipient's bank account without worrying about hidden fees or deductions. 'We want to ensure that the digital economy enables the movement of money for consumers both in Canada and around the world. Reliable access to secure international money movement is essential for empowering people and supporting global connections, and Mastercard is proud to work with BMO to offer this innovative solution,' said Darrell MacMullin, Senior Vice President, Commercial and New Payment Flows, Mastercard, Canada. 'Mastercard Move lets people send money affordably, while delivering speed, transparency and trust in every transaction.' A Market-Leading Collaboration In a competitive remittance landscape, Mastercard's technology and scale continue to set it apart. The company's global expertise in running large networks, franchises and national payment infrastructure ensures that its customers remain ahead of the curve as end user needs continue to evolve. The expansion of its collaboration with BMO represents another key step in Mastercard's continued investment in innovation in this space, while allowing the bank to better serve its everyday banking clients in diverse Canadian communities.
Finextra
16-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
UniCredit taps Wise Platform for cross-border retail payments service
Italian bank UniCredit has partnered Wise to develop an international payment service for retail customers. 0 UniCredit is the first major bank in Europe to tap into the Wise Platform, which is powered by more than 70 licenses and six direct connections to payment systems globally, enabling cross-border payments to some 160 countries and over 40 currencies, with 65% of transfers settled in 20 seconds or less. From this month, Italian retail customers will be able to enables international transfers from euros into several foreign currencies, with the same speed and simplicity as domestic payments, from the bank's app. Initially, payments can be sent to recipients in selected countries, including the UK (GBP), Switzerland (CHF), Hong Kong (HKD), Singapore (SGD) and India (INR), with more currencies in development. The service will be rolled out to customers in other countries in the near future. Raphael Barisaac, global head, payments and cash management, UniCredit, says: 'Our customers expect simple, fast and transparent solutions at an affordable cost, even when it comes to complex transactions such as international wire transfers. This new service was created to meet exactly these needs and represents a fundamental step in this direction.'
Finextra
10-07-2025
- Business
- Finextra
Ant International takes aim at stablecoins; integration with USDC on the cards
Ant International, is evaluating the possibility of applying for stablecoin licenses in several countries, according to comments made during the Reuters Next Conference in Singapore. 0 Ant is reportedly eyeing stablecoin licences in Hong Kong, Singapore and Luxembourg. Kelvin Li, who leads platform technology at Ant International, explained to Reuters that the firm sees stablecoins as a way to streamline international payments and enhance the user experience. The comment is backed by news from Bloomberg that the company is expected to adopt USDC once the stablecoin clears US compliance requirements. Based in Singapore, Ant International is expanding its footprint beyond China and views improvements in global payment systems as a key part of that strategy. The company is also looking to support other digital currencies, including central bank digital currencies and tokenized bank deposits. Ant processed over $1 trillion in global transactions last year, with roughly one-third handled on its blockchain.
Reuters
08-07-2025
- Business
- Reuters
Russian firms use netting, gold and crypto in transborder payments, watchdog chief tells Putin
MOSCOW, July 8 (Reuters) - Russian companies are successfully using netting, gold, and cryptocurrency to facilitate international payments, the head of Russia's financial watchdog told President Vladimir Putin on Tuesday. Netting involves banks managing export and import payments through verified agents, with transactions centrally balanced to ensure counterparties receive their funds. International payments for Russian trade nearly stalled in the spring of 2024 as banks in Russia's key trading partners, including China, India, Turkey and the United Arab Emirates, came under the threat of secondary U.S. sanctions. The problem has eased substantially since then, with officials saying businesses in Russia and their partners have adapted to the sanctions and found ways to make cross-border payments. "As for cross-border financial flows... our focus has shifted somewhat, it is now the Middle East, Southeast Asia, and the broader Asian region," Russia's financial watchdog chief Yuri Chikhanchin told Putin. "Alternative forms of settlement are actively being used. These include gold and cryptocurrency. And now netting has appeared, clearing operations, which we are currently looking into," he added. Chikhanchin is the first high-ranking Russian official to publicly describe in detail the methods used by Russian firms for international payments. Such methods are rarely discussed in public. Reuters reported in April, citing banking sources who declined to be identified due to the sensitivity of the subject, that major Russian banks had set up a netting payments system for transactions with China. According to a transcript published on the Kremlin's website, Putin was curious to know how netting worked and whether the watchdog was tracking such payments. "Netting is when the exporter allows the importer to use the export proceeds. Instead of the exporter repatriating the funds, the importer brings in goods in advance using that money and settles the payment within the country," Chikhanchin told Putin. Chikhanchin said that gold was also being used in cross-border transactions, but called for more regulation in the gold trade, saying that the current lax regime results in arbitrage between domestic and international gold prices. Gold has recently replaced dollar and euro cash in many illegal transactions, according to the finance ministry, which has called for a $10,000 cap on the amount of gold an individual can take out of the country. Chikhanchin also highlighted a system known as "Transparent Blockchain" being developed by the watchdog with the central bank and Russia's second largest lender VTB, which will enable regulators and banks to monitor cryptocurrency transactions. The new system is due to become operational by the end of this year.
National Post
08-07-2025
- Business
- National Post
FV Bank Introduces Virtual Accounts for Enhanced Fund Attribution in International and Domestic Payments Transactions
Article content SAN JUAN, Puerto Rico — , the U.S. licensed digital bank offering a vertically integrated suite of traditional and digital asset banking and custody services, today announced the launch of its new Virtual Account feature, empowering business clients to automate and streamline the attribution of incoming international payments with unique, dedicated account numbers. Article content With this feature, FV Bank customers can now pre-generate virtual account numbers for each of their clients or counterparties, enabling seamless automation of incoming payment attribution. Businesses can assign a unique virtual account number and deposit instructions to every client, ensuring that when a client sends a SWIFT wire, ACH, Domestic Wire or USDC Stablecoin to this virtual account, FV Bank automatically tags and attributes the deposit to the underlying counterparty. Article content This solution addresses a longstanding challenge faced by businesses that receive payments from large customer bases of our clients or counterparties. Traditionally, matching incoming deposits to specific customers has been a time-consuming and error-prone process, often requiring manual reconciliation and creating operational overhead. FV Bank's Virtual Account feature eliminates these inefficiencies, helping businesses reduce reconciliation errors, minimize manual tracking, and make management of high-volume receivables processing more scalable. Article content This Virtual Account structure also significantly improves FV Bank's compliance controls through enhanced KYCC (Know Your Customer's Customer), enabling FV Bank to improve its transactional monitoring and KYC structures. Article content Key features of the Virtual Account solution include: Article content 'Our mission at FV Bank is to bring integrated accessibility and efficiency to modern banking,' said Miles Paschini, CEO of FV Bank. 'With the launch of Virtual Accounts, we are addressing a real pain point for our customers—automating the attribution of incoming funds and eliminating manual reconciliation, while materially improving our compliance capabilities. This feature empowers our clients to scale their operations with confidence, while maintaining the transparency and control they need in today's fast-moving global economy.' Article content A wide range of businesses stand to benefit from this solution, including: Article content Regulated businesses such as law firms, asset managers, and fintechs that require clear segregation and attribution of incoming client funds Marketplace and platform businesses, exchanges, and payment processors that need to efficiently reconcile high volumes of incoming payments Article content FV Bank continues to deliver forward-thinking solutions that help businesses operate more efficiently and securely in the global digital economy. Article content About FV Bank Article content FV Bank is a fully licensed and regulated U.S. digital bank offering a vertically integrated suite of digital asset and traditional banking services. With a focus on innovation, security, and compliance, FV Bank is Banking the Future by providing USD banking, digital asset custody services, money market accounts, Visa debit cards, and Stablecoin deposits and conversions, all accessible via a single, unified platform. Article content Article content Article content
