Blockchain services company OwlTing and digital payments startup Nium have joined forces to power OwlPay, OwlTing’s real-time cross-border payments service.
As the companies said in a news release Tuesday (May 10), the new service covers automatic reconciliation, online currency swaps, and cross-border payment services for the eCommerce and travel sectors in Southeast Asia.
“Using developer-friendly APIs, OwlPay connects to business’ internal management systems and provides a one-stop service for the administration of orders and providers, financial reconciliation, online audit and payment process automation,” the release said.
Meanwhile, Nium’s exchange rate, settlement network and support of more than 100 currencies gives businesses an added advantage when completing real-time international remittances, the companies said.
Una Peng, senior manager of OwlPay, said the service charges less than $10 per transaction with same-day settlement, compared to the industry average of $25 to $30.
OwlPay said it supports six currencies, with the company first targeting Southeast Asia, hoping to capitalize on the projected growth of the region’s internet economy, which could reach a gross merchandise volume of $363 billion by 2025.
Darren Wang, OwlTing’s founder and CEO, said OwlPay’s services will eventually expand to North and South America and Europe. He added that the company also plans “to introduce stablecoins and various settlement networks to explore the infinite possibilities of financial innovation and digital payment development.”
Learn more: TCH’s Immediate X-Border Payments Pilot Eyes Payroll, Remittances
The partnership is happening at a time when real-time payment networks and the banking system are moving quickly to provide fast, accessible cross-border payments, as Russ Waterhouse, executive vice president for product development and strategy at The Clearing House (TCH), told PYMNTS’ Karen Webster in recent interview.
Waterhouse spoke of the need to upgrade domestic payment options and improve cross-border payments, in part by improving the messaging that moves between banks and across borders. As he told Webster, consumer expectations are shifting, with the stage being set for a broader embrace of immediate cross-border payments.
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