After years of flexing our Visa and Mastercards, PayPal and Stripe, we’ve now come to rely on instant payments both domestically and internationally. In a world where PIN to pay, tap to pay, or fingerprint to pay provides instant payment at the time of purchase, we’re now locked in to a future where payments can be settled nearly in real-time. But when it comes to cross-border multi-currency transactions, we’re still trailing behind - with bank transactions requiring multiple intermediaries, time delays, and fees that stack up.

But that’s all changing. 

“Alternative payment methods (APMs), such as e-wallets and instant-payment-based solutions, continue to play a key role in accelerating cash substitution, particularly in developing countries.” - The 2020 McKinsey Global Payments Report

For businesses, in particular, instant payments reap immediate benefits. Not only do instant payments offer payment assurance and lower fees across the settlement process, but it is also a way to better manage cash flow, and provide further value to customers.

Easier planning process with instant payments

Instead of planning when payments are coming in, when to have sufficient cash for later outgoings and when to send payments to ensure they arrive on time when you use instant payments, everything is settled at the time you decide. Instead of adjusting figures for exchange rates when an international payment goes through, you can account for the correct amount at the time of payment. Goods or services can be released immediately, rather than needing to wait for a payment to clear.

With instant payments, you no longer have to deal with future planning, everything is on the balance sheet straight away. You can pay earlier or later for better cash flow management, independent of a clearing house’s timeframes. Payment scheduling is precise and coherent.

Operate 24/7

Unlike traditional bank transfers, instant payments give businesses an opportunity to receive payments during the weekend.

Except for offering customers a quicker way of making payments, with automation processes in place, businesses would be able to spend and/or invest this money immediately without waiting for the next working day. 

For import / export B2B companies, the evaluation of raw materials price can be determined during the weekends as well.

Lack of intermediaries can increase speed

Cross-border, and particularly multi-currency instant payments traditionally involve a number of different intermediaries for processing. Slowdowns at any of these touchpoints reduce transaction speed. 

At present, in research noted by BIS, there are only six instant cross-border multi-currency systems, however blockchain technology can decrease the number of intermediaries to minimum to allow instant transactions.

Instant payments are the new normal

It’s time to do better business. Make B2B payments across international borders in different currencies the easy way with instant payments provided by DTransfer.

Join us to take advantage of all the benefits that instant payments produce, including lower fees.