OpenPayd launches its offering in real-time FX
Non-bank commercial payment companies have had a great opportunity to ride the wave of payments digitisation this year. Dozens of fintechs have launched products in the cross-border payments space as well as FX in order to get into this complex market.
This week UK-based, non-bank payments start-up OpenPayd joined the pack when it launched InstantFX, which would allow clients to make FX payments. This field is already crowded with other fintechs, notably industry leader TransferWise, which last year booked £47 billion in cross-border payments.
Earlier this year, Qolo partnered with Moneycorp to offer an FX payments solution that aimed to help businesses with an automated payments tool for same-to-same currency settlement. Meanwhile OFX Group had introduced a multi-currency account for businesses, to help them manage international cash flow.
Its close competitors in the UK, Currencycloud, had recently partnered with Contis to provide FX services.
According to the press release, the latest service is delivered through OpenPayd’s Banking-as-a-Service(BaaS) platform and this will put an end to the need for batch processing.
The platform would let customers offer automated mid-market spots in 18 currencies which would be delivered either through web front end or an API for full integration. Clients would be able to hold funds in a currency wallet and pay out these currencies through several networks, including FPS, CHAPS, SEPA and SEPA INSTANT.
According to a company update, InstantFX is scheduled to be rolled out before year-end and will also add real-time settlement, plus the ability to pay out US dollars via SWIFT, ACH, and Wire. Through InstantFX clients can access the United Arab Emirates, Saudi Arabia, and Mexico, the press release noted.
“Covid is killing cash and accelerating the rise of digital payments. This is creating opportunity for firms that can offer real-time, frictionless and intuitive payment experiences. Seamless foreign exchange is a big but complex part of that for which many firms still rely on batch processing,” said Iana Dimitrova, CEO at OpenPayd.
OpenPayd is authorised by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom under the Electronic Money Regulations for the issuance of electronic money and payment services.