The internet has radically changed commerce and opportunities for entrepreneurs and small and medium enterprises (SMEs) globally. The ability for smaller merchants and businesses to operate internationally has been a game-changer. However, numerous payment problems have arisen resulting from the rapidity of the change, and financial services are struggling to keep up. Legacy infrastructure is holding back business It is frustrating for many SMEs that they can now operate across borders, but legacy banking infrastructure often labels smaller businesses as ‘high-risk’. This can make transactions difficult, risky, slow, and expensive. For example, a business receiving an international payment will probably use SWIFT and won’t receive the money for between one and five days, on average. There is no transparency in the process, there will be fees attached and, probably, an unfavorable exchange rate. Then there are the risks for the merchant that arise from credit card fraud. The recent 2021 Chargeback Field report found that between 2018 and 2021, there was a 21 percent increase in criminal fraud. There are solutions available for P2P transactions and larger companies, but SMEs have been largely excluded. As smaller businesses often operate on very tight margins, this is holding back a lot of enterprises. Fortunately, solutions have been appearing thanks to nimbler fintech companies, innovative new platforms, and the adoption of cr...
