B2B Payments Energized (Literally) Across Borders

In Asia, news came this week that petroleum firm PTT Exploration and Production (PTTEP), the biggest company in the country, is linking with Ripple, with an eye on cross-border transactions.

As reported, PTTEP and Siam Commercial Bank (SCB), in conjunction with Ripple, will use the latter’s system for the first time in a B2B format. SCB had been the first commercial institution to use the RippleNet “multi-hop” functionality to settle payments for other financial institutions (FIs) on that network.

“This is a beginning of cooperation with [FIs] to increase the efficiency of PTTEP’s cross-border financial transactions in less time, resulting in lower costs,” said PTTEP CEO Khun Somporn Wongwuttipornchai in a translated statement. The CEO added that the initiative “reflects PTTEP’s determination to seek new approaches or methods to increase the efficiency of work … to maintain business competitiveness.”

Through the beginning stages of the project, Ripple and SCB will facilitate transactions from the energy giant to other firms across Southeast Asia.

JPMorgan Eyes Ripple, Too

Separately, financial services firm JPMorgan said it will look to add features to its permissioned blockchain network — a move that seeks to help the company compete with the aforementioned Ripple and other companies, such as TransferWise.

The JPMorgan network, known as the Interbank Information Network, was geared toward the real-time sharing of transactions between banks that would also avoid errors and delays. The network now serves 220 banks, according to reports. Managing Director and Product Executive of Global Payments John Hunter at JPMorgan said the company wants to look at doing more “at the point of settlement.”

The settlement features that will bow later in the year will include the ability to confirm that funds are being sent to valid accounts. Hunter told the Financial Times that, for banks, “straight-through processing rates are in the mid-80s to mid-90s. It’s that gap — the 5 [percent] to 20 percent of payments — that have to be assessed by operations where we’re trying to alleviate some of that pain.”

Separately, the card giants are hardly resting quietly on the sidelines of the cross-border payments game. Mastercard and BMO Bank of Montreal said this week that the latter is enlisting Mastercard Send to deliver faster and more transparent international payment services to Canada for commercial banking and corporate clients.

In a release detailing the pact, the bank said using Mastercard Send can let those aforementioned clients send cross-border payments to bank accounts across more than 75 countries. The initial rollout will be centered on bank account transfers, then will include payments made to mobile wallets and cards internationally.

“Consumers today expect quicker access to their funds, but businesses face numerous challenges when making cross-border payments,” said Brian Lang, president of Mastercard in Canada, in the release that detailed the relationship and roadmaps in place for Mastercard and BMO. “Mastercard Send helps banks modernize their cross-border services, and deliver a better experience for their clients.”