ConnexPay Adds Canadian Dollars to Virtual Card Offering

Payments platform ConnexPay has added acquiring in Canadian dollars to its virtual card issuing offering.

The expansion lets ConnexPay customers process payments in Canadian dollars (CAD), according to a Tuesday (Dec. 12) press release, and opens ConnexPay’s services to a “vast market” of 38.25 million people and 1.21 million businesses.

“Notably, the US trades $718.4 billion in goods and services with Canada annually, but transactions between the two countries often experience delays and additional fees,” the company said in the release. “ConnexPay’s solution lowers risk, providing faster and more cost-effective methods for businesses with stringent accounting requirements.”

ConnexPay founder and CEO Bob Kaufman said the ability to offer payment acceptance in CAD gives those customers access to the same payment systems as those in the U.S., such as a chargeback management system and integrated fraud prevention.

PYMNTS looked at the challenges facing businesses conducting cross-border payments earlier this year, including “the intractable issue of cross-border payments’ high fees, and slow-as-molasses transaction times.”

However, technological innovations have begun to ease the pain points long plaguing cross-border B2B payments, giving organizations that hope to grow globally a chance to do so.

“After all, in today’s unprecedented era of global connectivity, the need for efficient and secure cross-border payment solutions has never been greater,” PYMNTS wrote.

“And the future of cross-border payments for B2B transactions holds immense promise, driven by a convergence of innovation around artificial intelligence (AI), machine learning (ML), real-time payment solutions, embedded finance and even blockchain and distributed ledger technologies (DLT).”

That report noted that one of this year’s defining themes has been a growing expectation among business customers to have “the same, seamless and technology-driven experience” in B2B transactions as they receive as consumers.

“There are two highly important areas for B2B payments where innovation is occurring,” Eric Foust, vice president of banking partnerships North America at Trustly, told PYMNTS. “And the first one is cross-border payments.”

Earlier this year, ConnexPay launched British pounds and euros, allowing European companies to receive and send payments in their native currencies.

“After five years building our solution to great success in North America, we’re excited to launch native currencies in Europe knowing that our solution is fit for purpose, global in scope and simply connects payments,” Kaufman said at the time.