In today’s global economy, it’s easy to order and pay for overseas products online. Take fresh Nordic salmon from a foodie e-commerce site as a case in point. Simply plug in your debit or credit card number, and a frozen treat from across the Atlantic will arrive at your door in just a few days.
If only sending money to friends and family abroad were as easy. But that type of cross-border payment is a completely different kettle of fish.
For a long time, the only way to send money overseas was through a wire transfer. This method is not only slow, but it’s also expensive, considering that traditional banks charge high international transaction fees. However, with the rise of fintech and the advent of embedded banking, brands can cut out the middleman — traditional banks and financial institutions — and offer faster, cheaper, and easier financial services like cross-border payments – directly to their customers.
The embedded finance and Banking Attraction
Embedded finance allows any brand — in any industry — to offer banking and financial services directly to consumers. Such services include digital accounts and wallets, remittance, branded cards and global payouts & payments.
These services are seamlessly embedded through an API (application programming interface), so consumers can access the services through an enterprise’s existing platform or application.
There are numerous reasons why a brand would want to embed financial services directly, from their ability to generate new forms of revenue to help improve the customer experience and increase customer lifetime value. The attraction of embedded finance for end-user consumers is that it offers convenient, always-on access to the services they need at a lower cost.
Visitors to Walmart’s platform can buy groceries or household items, open bank accounts, obtain buy-now-pay-later financing (BNPL), and even apply for health insurance. Walmart’s successful efforts to break into the healthcare industry are a prime example of how embedded banking can open up new realms to drive new revenue and strengthen customer loyalty.
But it’s not just heavy hitters like Walmart that are leveraging embedded finance solutions. Many companies realize that their customers now expect — and demand — convenient, streamlined services. If companies don’t provide this level of ease, their competitors surely will.
According to Juniper Research, companies and customers are embracing embedded banking and finance so enthusiastically that its market value is expected to exceed $138 billion in 2026.
A new way to make international payments
Payment services were one of the first embedded banking services to take off in the early days of fintech. With the advent of embedded finance and the rise of the global economy, payment services are evolving to offer enterprises (and their customers) so much more.
While international expansion is appealing, it comes with its share of complications. Working in different countries requires paying an overseas workforce and accepting and initiating cross-border payments, all in various currencies.
Businesses have to navigate financial regulations to become fully compliant, a costly and unwieldy endeavor. As such, it’s imperative for large enterprise companies to partner with a trusted and vetted embedded finance partner to handle those responsibilities, ensure safety and compliance.
The complexities of cross-border payments
The U.S. Federal Reserve recognizes that cross-border payments are inherently more complex than domestic payments. For example, the United States, European Union, and the United Kingdom all have different payment system regulations and provider structures, and those structures are constantly changing.
According to the Fed, international payments have historically been slow and costly because of the different currencies involved, individual country regulations, time zones, and because there is no end-to-end system or rule set.
But that has changed with the emergence of embedded finance. Solution providers like Alviere can now offer that end-to-end system, without needing to rely on banks to be part of the process.
The value of embedded cross-border payments
Global money transfers used to depend on banks or corresponding banking institutions that acted as intermediaries to ensure secure transactions. But this process takes time, ties up capital, and incurs fees.
Global companies need better access to international payments. Large transactors with sizable overseas workforces or customer bases need faster options, delivery guarantees, and solutions embedded into their processes for trade and procurement.
Alviere eliminates the pain points by removing the time and cost burden of compliance and keeping up with changing regulations. Working with a regulated financial provider frees up time, money, and resources to focus on core business — not on the complexities of ever-changing regulations.
A B2B Payments ecosystem is a boon for large companies that must make local payments to an international workforce. Payouts to contractors and employees are huge capital outlays, and traditional cross-border transactions through banks impact liquidity by tying up capital for days. Payouts through an embedded finance platform frees up cash flow and streamlines currency conversion. Move money around the globe while avoiding costly wire transfer fees charged by traditional international banks.
International remittances
An embedded finance solution like Alviere also allows companies to provide a valuable service to customers who want to send money across borders. Employees and customers can send money overseas easily and through a company’s existing application or web platform.
Alviere also offers currency exchange, so friends and family members can easily convert money into their native currency without having to go to a bank or pay high fees.
What compliance looks like for embedded banking solution providers
Alviere compliance and advanced risk management protect enterprises and their customers and partners. In addition to robust compliance and regulatory controls, the embedded finance platform has AI-driven fraud detection and protocols to identify and block fraudulent transactions in real-time, 24/7.
Know-your-customer (KYC) identity management verifies and screens users and protects accounts from criminal activity. Biometric verification ensures secure customer onboarding and prevents fraud. And, native anti-money laundering (AML) provides compliance in every application and seeks suspicious transaction patterns in real-time.
Facilitate cross-border payments
Embedded finance providers seamlessly integrate cutting-edge financial and security technology with your company’s existing platform to send international real-time payments, pay workers across borders, and allow your employees and customers to send money to friends and family all over the world. Do it all knowing that every transaction is secure and complies with applicable regulations.
The absence of intermediaries and banking relationships means that foreign exchange (FX) fees are low and time delays are eliminated. Using Alviere for cross-border payments, paying a vendor in Norway for salmon from the United States is seamless, fast, and cost-effective.
Contact Alviere today and learn how better cross-border payments will help your company thrive.
