Goldman Sachs partners with Visa for cross-border payments

As startup fintechs disrupt cross-border payments with low-cost services, traditional incumbents are fighting back.

This week, Visa has announced a global strategic partnership with Goldman Sachs Transaction Banking which the company claims would help all levels of businesses and ‘move money effortlessly around the world’.

According to the press note, with the implementation of Visa B2B Connect and Visa Direct Payouts solutions, Goldman Sachs would enable its corporate and commercial banking clients to simplify processes related to the complexities and costs associated with the existing systems and inefficient processes.

The solution would help Goldman Sachs cross-border B2B and B2C payments program for both high and low-value payments. The company noted in a press note that with this ‘corporate clients can move funds quickly and securely, have near real-time visibility into their payment status, obtain necessary reconciliation and compliance data’.

“There is an immediate need for modernization of the global money movement to help businesses around the world simplify and enhance how they pay and get paid across borders,” said Alan Koenigsberg, global head of new payment flows, Visa Business Solutions.

Goldman Sachs clients can use Visa’s solutions through their existing connections, through API, file or online web platform. For high-value cross-border payments, Goldman will use Visa B2B Connect and through Visa Direct Payouts capabilities, Goldman Sachs will bring push-to-account functionality for a lower value, high volume cross-border Business-to-Small-Business (B2SB) and Business-to-Consumer (B2C) payouts.

As noted by the company in a press note, a single connection to billions of endpoints in over 90 markets, Visa Direct Payouts expands the payment options Goldman Sachs can offer to its corporate clients.

Traditional card networks charge interchange fees which in the case of small businesses can be significant. Recently Visa raised the interchange fees in Europe. Unlike card giants, some fintechs offer cross-border solutions without interchange fees which is a competitive advantage for them.