Financial institutions have traditionally faced significant challenges in making cross-border payments, especially in navigating the complex web of regulatory frameworks in different countries. These ordinances can vary widely and often require substantial resources to ensure compliance, let alone timely delivery.

To complicate matters, legacy systems are often outdated and not equipped to handle the speed and efficiency required for today’s near-instant cross-border transactions. There’s also the potential risk of fraud and security threats that would require robust security measures that can be costly and difficult to implement effectively.

Businesses depend on these transactions, so financial institutions need to have infrastructure in place to make cross-border payments. Banks must implement flexible payment options tailored to their clients’ specific needs.

As the bank that processes more than $10 trillion in payments daily¹, J.P. Morgan Payments has been at the heart of delivering cross-border and interregional payments. Our size, scale and on-the-ground teams have been behind the scenes, innovating and smoothing the way for efficient payments from country to country and region to region.

“We’ve been a trusted partner for many years, providing the payment rails for a lot of pioneering fintechs to help them send payments around the world faster, cheaper and safer than ever before,” said Mike Katergaris, Managing Director, J.P. Morgan Financial Institution Group Sales. “And we’re bringing that innovation to our financial institution clients.”

How financial institutions overcome traditional hurdles in cross-border payments

Around the world, from Latin America² to Africa³ to Asia⁴, changes to foreign exchange regulations are making it easier to send money across borders. Led by businesses in LATAM, real-time payments in new marketplaces have opened doors for new companies to make payments and settle transactions faster than ever.

For banks of any size, working with a global partner can offer the scale and level of international experience that delivers significant advantages for cross-border payments.

J.P. Morgan Payments has an extensive global network, with the ability to verify over two billion bank accounts⁵. Our clients can send money in 120 currencies and receive in more than 40. Plus, a robust infrastructure helps ensure faster and more efficient transaction processing, and allows banks and their customers to receive live, real-time foreign exchange rates via API, or held rates can be delivered via API or email.

An institution the size of J.P. Morgan can provide advanced technology and tight compliance protocols that can help reduce risk from fraud, enhancing overall security and reliability. We invest more than $15 billion⁶ annually in technology – this can help remove the friction and complexity of a “do-it-yourself” approach.

“We are the clearing bank of choice for banks, but also a world-leading foreign exchange house,” said Fergus Wills, VP, Financial Institutions FX Solutions at J.P. Morgan Payments. “Our clients are asking for reach and access to markets and local payment systems that they have a hard time facilitating themselves.

“On the one hand, we’ve built out the technology and risk management infrastructure to scale transactional FX flows. On the other, our appetite for meaningful presence across geographies and liquidity pools, whilst accessing local payment rails, is extensive. This includes restricted currency markets where onshore expertise is essential. We leverage a combination of these ingredients to achieve the diverse objectives of our clients.”

Creating exciting new sources of revenue

For a financial institution, new products can offer new sources of revenue – but there’s a catch. Those new products may also require knowledge of regulations and market complexities in multiple countries and regions, and the financial and time commitment to grow can be overwhelming. The good news is, we’ve dealt with all of this already and have built a solution.

J.P. Morgan Payments offers Xpedite, a cross-currency solution that helps provide an expertise of each country’s individual regulations, focusing on those specifics so that you can spend time growing your business. Xpedite also allows an institution’s clients to use multiple payout methods, including ACH, pay-to-wallet and real-time rails, streamlining and providing an even higher level of efficiency.

Products like Xpedite can greatly improve the customer experience by providing greater transparency and control over cross-border transactions, as well as helping free up capital and resources for FIs to deploy elsewhere. Additionally, banks can leverage J.P. Morgan's expertise to develop customized financial products tailored to the specific needs of clients, providing further competitive advantage in a tight market.

Seize new opportunities, realizing your vision

We invest billions in tech innovations every year to unlock the power of data⁶ that can help financial institutions keep customers on the cutting-edge. Our investments in blockchain and asset tokenization provide 24/7, real-time programmable payments, helping allow financial institutions to be as flexible as possible while helping customers move their money where they want it, when they need it.

As the #1 bank for financial institutions⁷ with 100+ years⁸ of building strong relationships under our belt, J.P. Morgan Payments is here to help grow those relationships. Our understanding of payment solutions helps ensure that you're prepared to help customers navigate any type of market.