OpenPayd Debuts Access To Quick Foreign Exchange Payments

OpenPayd, an application programming interface (API)-led Banking-as-a-Service (BaaS) provider, launched InstantFX on Tuesday (Oct. 27), which will help clients access easy foreign exchange payments, according to a press release.

This will do away with the need for batch processing. The program is delivered through OpenPayd’s BaaS platform, installable through existing technology with an API, according to the release.

The InstantFX platform will let customers of OpenPayd offer automated mid-market spots in 18 currencies, the release stated, with delivery coming through a web front end or an API for full integration.

Clients will be able to hold their funds in a currency wallet, paying out the currencies through various networks like FPS, CHAPS, SEPA and SEPA INSTANT, according to the release. In addition, an update is expected to add real-time settlement and the ability to pay out USD in SWIFT, ACH and wire.

OpenPayd CEO Iana Dimitrova said in the release that the service would be useful especially because of the trend toward digital payments and away from paper money during the pandemic.

“COVID is killing cash and accelerating the rise of digital payments,” she said, according to the release. “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.”

Adam Bialy, chief product officer at OpenPayd, told PYMNTS in an April interview that FinTechs have been aiming to soothe pain points at various stages of B2B transactions, with open banking allowing companies to loop directly into payment processes that can reduce time and workloads. That, he said, is an improvement on relying more on banks as outside help, which has been a cause of friction.

Bialy said the idea is to connect as many parts of the payment process as possible because relying on banks is “really slow.”