Payments service provider Align Commerce has taken a major step toward achieving faster B2B payments across the globe. According to a company announcement published Thursday (April 2), Align’s new payment platform has moved on to a beta testing phase.
The new platform looks to quicken cross-border payments as the industry explores near real-time payment processing. Despite the efforts, cross-border payments remain a significant source of friction for B2B players, Align CEO and founder Marwan Forzley said.
“The $24 trillion cross-border payments market is growing at a breakneck pace, expected to eclipse $54 trillion by 2022, despite a highly inefficient and expensive system in which businesses spend over $50 billion on wire and foreign exchange fees, wait up to seven days for transactions to complete, and have no visibility into the process,” he said in a statement.
According to Forzley, the platform is the first that utilizes the blockchain to speed up payment processing for small- and medium-sized businesses. The service allows businesses to get paid in their local currency, making Align the first company to utilize the blockchain in this way, the company said. And, unlike wire transfers, the new platform is transparent for both buyers and suppliers, who will know where money is in the blockchain and when they should expect to receive funds.
Align is not the first to tackle this issue. Earlier this month, reports revealed that China was one step closer to launching its international cross-border yuan payments system.
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