Visa: the highs and lows of B2B payments

The world of cross-border B2B payments landscape has undergone significant changes over the last decade––perhaps most drastically over the last two years. 

A study conducted by Visa showed that about 70% of corporates have pain points tied to cross-border B2B payments. 

Visa B2B Connect was borne out of the need to address this issue. The solution, a multilateral network, delivers B2B cross-border payments that are predictable, secure and cost-effective for financial institutions and their corporate clients.

The future of BaaS and innovation in the global B2B payments

Banking as a service (BaaS) is the provision of banking products and services to non-bank third-party distributors through APIs.

More and more, companies are realising that they need to provide value where clients need it using BaaS solutions.

Not only will BaaS offerings help with frictionless money moving, but they will allow rich access to data. This will allow organisations an extra layer of financial transparency and control so that they can offer an improved user experience.

SWIFT thinking: how the global payments system can help digitalise trade finance

The metaverse poses lots of opportunities for trade, facilitating promissory bills of exchange, cross-border commerce, and supply chain visibility. 

Despite the vast potential posed in the metaverse, the industry can often be met with apprehension. 

To explore the futuristic potential of the metaverse for trade finance, TFG spoke with Megha Shrestha, co-founder and CEO of Metabloqs.

CBI: an overview of the Italian banking sector

Following the COVID-19 pandemic and the Russia-Ukraine conflict, Italian banks find themselves in a very challenging macroeconomic environment.

Digital innovation needs to be at the core of all efforts moving forward. To survive and play a competitive role in the market, financial institutions must increase their investments in new high-tech services and digital products. 

Other initiatives that CBI is working on include efforts to prevent fraud and double payment in addition to promoting the spirit of data sharing in the economy.

Citi on navigating volatility and incorporating ESG finance principles into trade finance

TFG spoke to Christopher Cox, head of global trade and institutional finance division, TTS, at Citi, to find out how the bank stays true to its sustainability pledges across 96 markets. 

This has meant the launch of several digital solutions to support Citi’s commercial and trade clients, like; the CapaCiTi platform that allows clients to request and manage loans electronically via Citi’s Electronic Trade Loans capability. 

Citi is also actively ESG-screening suppliers and working with supply chains to push through stronger social principles.

Sustainability

The role of banks in developing greener, more sustainable trade practices

TFG spoke to Tod Burwell, president and CEO of the BAFT (Bankers Association for Financing Trade), a global trade finance association headquartered in Washington DC, about the key sustainability issues within the industry.

In his view, one of the challenges of introducing key reforms around ESG and digitisation within the finance industry is trying to deal with existing gaps in legal frameworks so that they better support the introduction of digital trade documentation.

Fintech

Finastra on partnerships and a changing corporate-client experience

Consumers’ expectations are changing and digitisation of processes seems to be the only way to keep up. 

To catch up on the latest around trade finance digitisation, Trade Finance Global (TFG) spoke with Michael Vrontamitis, lead industry principal for Finastra’s lending business unit.

Finastra believes that finance is open, helping to connect people to their overall ecosystem. This means working with partners on multiple levels to implement an assortment of solutions and technological capabilities.