Earthport Spreads SME Cross-Border Network

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Partnerships are key for cross-border payments company Earthport, and the firm has just inked its newest collaboration — this time, to fuel global payments for another player in the market.

Reports on Tuesday (March 1) said U.K.-based Earthport will be working with Belgium’s FX4BIZ in an effort to expand operations and link more SMEs to cross-border payments services.

FX4BIZ has a license from the National Bank of Belgium, reports said, and links small and medium-sized enterprises to online banking tools. It facilitates these companies to open bank accounts in different currencies, as well as a portal for cross-border payments and currency conversion.

Together, Earthport and FX4BIZ are hoping to combine their forces and secure a greater share of the global corporate payments space. Earthport is providing the Belgian firm with its global payments infrastructure, linking FX4BIZ to more than 60 countries.

“We are delighted to announce this agreement with FX4BIZ,” stated Earthport European President Daniel Marovitz. “We have built a global payment network, giving clients easy access to payment options in over 60 markets via a single API. We’re proud that Earthport’s payment network enables the continued growth of companies like FX4BIZ.”

Separately, FX4BIZ CFO Patrick Mollard said his firm chose Earthport for its proven capabilities.

“The company’s highly sophisticated payments network will enable us to develop our offering and to reinforce our international banking network,” he stated.

Another key partner for Earthport is Ripple, a move that looks to expand Earthport’s cross-border payments capabilities from ACH-only to now ACH- and blockchain-based. The company also collaborates with financial institutions to link them to distributed ledger technology, its Distributed Ledger Gateway, which integrates into Ripple, via an open-source API.