Modern Treasury Launches ‘Global ACH’ With Silicon Valley Bank Signing On

San Francisco-based financial services platform Modern Treasury is introducing a product called “Global ACH” which it bills as “a new payment service” that enables lower-cost cross-border transfers than options like SWIFT by utilizing local payment rails.

To launch Global ACH, Modern Treasury is partnering with Silicon Valley Bank.

According to a Thursday (March 2) press release, Global ACH offers “customers more choices for cross-border payments beyond the SWIFT network. With Global ACH, customers can automate international payments using the ACH- and RTP-equivalent payment rails in other countries. This helps companies expand international capabilities with less upfront investment while driving efficiency into their global operations.”

Modern Treasury said Global ACH “provides a number of advantages over current cross-border payment options” in that it’s less expensive than SWIFT and other third-party options.

It said, “In addition, Global ACH helps provide greater predictability in the final amount received by payees because lifting fees will not be assessed. With Modern Treasury’s solution, companies can work with a bank, like Silicon Valley Bank, once and then expand globally without having to choose and integrate different payment rails in each country.”

Use cases highlighted for Global ACH include marketplaces that pay out users and suppliers in international markets, “shipping and logistics firms that disburse funds to vendors and suppliers abroad, financial services, such as payroll and lenders sending funds to international recipients, companies with large numbers of international suppliers and contractors, and software providers offering accounts payable services for clients paying out globally or facilitating remittances.”

While Modern Treasury called SWIFT “well-suited for fast, one-off international payments,” it said, “Global ACH is expected to be more popular for companies with recurring international payment flows and smaller value payouts that are not time critical.”

“With Modern Treasury and Silicon Valley Bank, BluePallet can provide our customers with a seamless payment experience, simplifying transaction management, banking operations, and compliance reporting,” said Rena Tabal, director of product management at BluePallet, an online B2B chemicals marketplace, in a testimonial for the new service.

“With this collaboration, we offer secure, fast, and reliable international payments through a single integration, freeing us from the cumbersome task of working in individual banks while unlocking global growth. We’re eager to bring our payment solutions to more countries and currencies,” Tabal said.