Saxo Challenges The Cost, Time Of X-Border Payments

The hottest players in finance and payments are at Money20/20 this week, meaning the industry has its eyes fixed on the innovations coming out of the show. One of those new tools has been unleashed by Saxo Payments.

The company announced Tuesday (Oct. 27) that the global financial services provider has debuted Banking Circle at the Money20/20 event. The platform connects players of the global payments community and links them to lower foreign exchange and cross-border transaction fees, according to Saxo.

[bctt tweet=”Banking Circle connects players to lower foreign exchange and cross-border fees.”]

The service can be used by any financial technology firm, whether they be a payment gateway, alternative lender or card acquirer. A business “can provide bank transfer capabilities in its own name, competing directly with the banks in terms of offering the ability for merchants to pay suppliers and partners around the globe at low cost,” the company said in its announcement.

“Our goal in creating the Banking Circle banking platform is to help payments businesses extend their value chain, from simply disrupting the user experience to disrupting the entire cross-border bank transfer process,” said Saxo Payments Chief Executive Officer Anders la Cour in a statement accompanying the announcement.

He added that First Data and Allied Wallet are among some of the early adopters of the platform, which Saxo said will play “a fundamental role in global trade.”

Saxo added that merchants can use Banking Circle to reduce cross-border bank transfer costs. Sending and receiving funds when both players are in Banking Circle leads to the recipient not incurring a landing fee; the bank charges a fee when payments are sent to non-members of the platform, it said, and those payments can be settled within a day.

The payments company said the platform can facilitate cross-border payments “in seconds, regardless of location,” leading to faster B2B payments. Saxo also said that users can take advantage of the ability to enter new markets without having to establish a banking relationship there.

Foreign exchange fees are competitive, Saxo said, and currency can be automatically converted when it comes in to a recipient.

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