Cross-Border Instant Payments

Reducing costs: Cross-border instant payments eliminates beneficiary bank charges and reduces operating costs The emergence of digital economies has led to a sharp increase in higher-volume, lower-value payments, especially across consumer-business and business-consumers payments. As an example, certain e-commerce industries, such as ride-hailing services, providers of property rentals, or data streaming “influencer” services, can often have thousands of cross-border payments a month. Managing such high-volume, lower-value payments can be expensive, especially when paying individuals overseas. These costs often materialize from beneficiary bank charges and the costs associated with managing beneficiary inquiries around receipt of funds. Recently introduced cross-border instant payments solutions are exempt from beneficiary bank charges, delivering the full amount to the end beneficiary. This in turn removes costs associated with managing inquiries from beneficiaries regarding the receipt of funds, as payments are received near instantly. Furthermore, real-time payments status updates through API connectivity can further enhance both the payor and payee’s experience. Providing payees with choice and convenience: Cross-border instant payments to digital wallets The rise of digital wallets is one of the most material shifts in the payments landscape over the last five years. Having access to cross-border payments through digital wallets is becoming increasingly important for both traditional and digital companies. This is especially relevant when paying to freelancers, app developers and influencers — a trend largely driven by the fact that many people in these roles are millennials, who are more enthusiastic adopters of digital wallets. Citi’s recent launch of cross-border payments to digital wallets in Kenya, Pakistan and the bank’s ability to pay directly into PayPal wallets is an important development that meets the needs of both traditional and digital native customers. Such payments offer near real-time delivery of funds, with full value guaranteed and extended availability, near 24/7. Furthermore, Cross-Border Payments to PayPal digital wallets are a great alternative to checks, unlocking the ability to make payments to beneficiaries without requiring their bank account information. In fact, Citi will soon be able to support payments to “unsubscribed” PayPal users — with just the beneficiary’s name and email address, you can make a payment to a beneficiary that doesn’t have a PayPal wallet. They will receive a request via email or SMS to open a PayPal wallet to receive the funds. The future is now... and we want to keep building it with you To help our clients unlock brand loyalty, improve supply chain relationships and provide payees with more choice and convenience, Citi WorldLink Payment Services is now live with Cross-Border Instant Payments to India, Indonesia, Mexico, Singapore, Thailand and the UK, with many more corridors planned for 2022, including Canada, Australia and SEPA (EUR) payments. WorldLink also enables its clients to pay into a growing number of Digital Wallets and Debit Cards across the globe, achieving near-instant, full value payments. Citi Network Instant Payments also offers cross-border instant payments between its own branches across select markets. Citi’s continued investments in faster and smarter cross-border payments into Accounts, Digital Wallets and Cards are fast becoming a game-changer for its Corporate clients to achieve digital transformation and greater payment efficiency through near-instant, full value payments, with near 24/7 availability. If you are interested in exploring further, we would be delighted to hear from you.