Rewiring the Cross-Border Payments Paradigm: Why Software, Not Settlement, Holds the Key

In The Payments Association’s recent webinar, Rewiring the Cross-Border Payments Paradigm: Risk and Security in Correspondent Banking, four experts tackled one of the most persistent issues in global finance: the outdated and risk-heavy infrastructure behind international payments.

The lively conversation, moderated by Masha Cilliers from Payment Options LTD, featured Gary Palmer (CEO and Founder, Payall Payment Systems), Pégeman Khorsan (Chief Legal and Regulatory Officer, RTGS Global), Natalie Lewis (Partner, Travers Smith), and Joel Attwal (Head of Financial Institutions, Correspondent Banking and Advisor, Ebury)—each bringing a unique view on what’s broken in cross-border payments, and how to fix it.

The conclusion was clear: cross-border payments don’t need minor upgrades—they need to be rewired.

Watch the full webinar here:

1. The Problem Isn’t Speed—It’s Risk

While the industry often talks about “instant settlement” and “faster rails,” Gary Palmer challenged that narrative head-on. The issue, he argued, is not money movement. Liquidity already exists. Networks like Mastercard Move and Visa Direct can deliver funds in seconds. The real bottleneck lies in risk and compliance.

“Banks still rely on humans to verify documents, interpret risk rules, and review transactions,” Palmer said. “When one error can lead to a billion-dollar fine, fear takes over. That fear—and lack of purpose-built software—is what slows everything down.” That reliance on manual reviews, trust-based processes, and after-the-fact audits has kept global payments slow and opaque. Institutions still process payments before fully understanding the risk—because their systems don’t allow them to do otherwise.

2. De-Risking Has Shrunk the Market—And Increased Vulnerability

“Some banks have made the business decision to step away from cross-border payments altogether,” said Natalie Lewis, Partner at Travers Smith. “And that has consequences—not just for access and inclusion, but for concentration risk. If something goes wrong with one provider, there are fewer alternatives.”

This “de-risking” strategy isn’t about reducing exposure—it’s a response to regulatory pressure and lack of the tools to manage that exposure effectively. And it’s leaving entire geographies and sectors underserved.

3. Regulation Is Outpacing Infrastructure

Pégeman Khorsan, from RTGS.global, pointed out a key challenge: “We’re operating in an environment with complex, overlapping regulations—but without the shared infrastructure or visibility to execute compliance in real time.”

The result is duplication, cost, and blind spots between institutions. Ehrenfeld emphasized the need for systems that offer shared data visibility, enabling all parties to understand risk and compliance execution—not just assume it.

4. Innovation Is Happening—But It’s Uneven

Joel Attwal of Ebury, provided a candid view from the fintech side: “A lot of innovation is coming from the non-bank sector. But we’re still forced to plug into systems that haven’t changed in 30 years. And that creates unnecessary cost and compliance headaches.”

Behling highlighted the importance of interoperability—between new platforms, traditional banks, and regulators—so that innovation doesn’t create more fragmentation.

5. A New Generation of Players—and Tools

The panelists agreed: innovation is no longer coming from the top tier. New fintechs, EMIs, and challenger banks are leading the charge, supported by compliance automation, AI-driven monitoring, and smarter onboarding tools. The once rigid infrastructure is now flexible, modular, and open.

And regulators are listening. Natalie noted that regulators and policymakers increasingly support innovation—especially when it enhances safety and financial inclusion.

The New Standard: Digitized, Transparent, and Trust-Free

As Gary Palmer put it, “This is no longer about trust. It’s about transparency. You don’t need to guess if your partner followed the rules—you can see it, in real time, for every transaction.”

That’s the new paradigm: real-time risk visibility, automated rule execution, and a shift away from manual, trust-based processes. With modern compliance software, institutions can monitor 100% of transactions before execution—not 0.01% afterward.

Want to simplify your cross-border payment business—and win more from it? Let’s talk.

Watch the full webinar here: Rewiring the cross-border payments paradigm: Risk and security in correspondent banking