Crossing The Real-Time Payment Border In Real Time

The movement toward cross-border payments has the promise to extend supply chains and business opportunities for firms as they seek to expand scale. Along with geographic reach, though, comes the need to conduct payments with speed and surety.

PayCommerce, which is based in the United States and which operates as an open cross-border payments network, said recently that it has completed the first phase of a global rollout initiative; as part of that strategy, the company has completed instant payments across its Federated Ledger, a blockchain platform. Those test payments, the company said, went through between India and the United States.

In an interview with PYMNTS, Abdul Naushad, founder of the firm and its executive chairman, said that, in general, payments for corporates have an element of uncertain timing, with payments settled in bank accounts from one to as many as four days after transactions and across B2B activity. In many countries, “faster payments are focused domestically,” said Naushad, with an eventual need to move to a more international scope. India represented a natural fit, as the country has been maneuvering through its digital efforts and, of course, has been working through a well-publicized demonetization.

PayCommerce’s ledger is both centralized and distributed. Naushad told PYMNTS the use of blockchain helps secure payments, ensure transparency and guarantee that communication is not dropped between parties. The messages are immutable and can thus be especially valuable across supply chains of any length. Commercialization will roll out later in the year and expand into Europe this year, among other regions, and Singapore and the Philippines next year.