Can transferring money overseas ever be as speedy and easy as paying for a meal in your local restaurant using real-time payments systems or wallets such as DBS PayLah!?
Imagine a world where consumers, businesses and institutions enjoy the same experience in every cross-border payment they make as they do domestically: with the same speed, efficiency, cost-effectiveness and transparency.
Though speedier and seamless cross-border payments will require a few mindset shifts to realise, it is not a far-fetched dream, especially so in Asia where a fast-growing digitally savvy middle class has led to the ubiquity of digital payments.
A study by Deloitte found that two-thirds of global digital wallet consumer spending in 2023 came from Asia, at a combined US$9.8 trillion. Moreover, the region boasts the highest digital wallet penetration rate: half of its point-of-sale transactions were made using digital wallets as compared to the global average of 30 per cent.
Typically, cross-border payments are less speedy, efficient and transparent as compared to local payments. It routes through one or a series of correspondent banks while encountering currency cut-off timings and banking holidays. This often results in such transactions taking up to several days to process, while fees may be high and not fully known to the sender upfront.
These pain points are felt across all walks of society - from migrant workers who need to remit money to their families back home, to large corporations managing payments, collections and cash positions across different time zones and currencies.
Beyond the traditional correspondent banking approach described above, multiple payment platforms, including those from banks, have emerged in recent years. However, this has also led to a more fragmented cross-border payments landscape.
Denne historien er fra November 07, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent ? Logg på
Denne historien er fra November 07, 2024-utgaven av The Straits Times.
Start din 7-dagers gratis prøveperiode på Magzter GOLD for å få tilgang til tusenvis av utvalgte premiumhistorier og 9000+ magasiner og aviser.
Allerede abonnent? Logg på
Actor Ryan Lian slashed outside shopping centre
Local actor Ryan Lian fears disfigurement after he was attacked outside a shopping centre and suffered facial injuries.
Blue Man Group to end New York run after three decades off-Broadway
NEW YORK - Blue Man Group, the wordless theatrical troupe of drumbeating, paint-splattering, bald blue performers, will end its run in New York on Feb 2, more than three decades and 17,000 performances after it began.
Author Cormac McCarthy had relationship with teen when he was 42: Vanity Fair
On Nov 20, American magazine Vanity Fair published a bombshell article revealing that Cormac McCarthy, one of the United States' most celebrated and enigmatic novelists, had a relationship with a girl he met when he was 42 and she was 16.
Actor Jung Woo-sung may skip film awards after love child revelation
South Korean actor Jung Woo-sung, who was recently revealed to have fathered a child out of wedlock, is reportedly discussing with his agency whether to attend the Blue Dragon Film Awards on Nov. 29.
Imagine Dragons more pensive after six-year absence
Some 10,000 fans attended the concert by the American pop-rock band, who last performed in Singapore in 2018
Team behind Netflix film hopes to spread joy and spark debate on IVF
The makers of a new film about the British pioneers of in-vitro fertilisation (IVF) hope it highlights the fragile status of fertility treatment, with perceived threats in places like the United States and dwindling availability in Britain.
Notre-Dame inspired Americans' love and help after fire
Through an avalanche of giving in amounts from US$10 (S$13.50) to US$10 million, Americans have proven their love for Paris' Notre-Dame cathedral, mobilizing to support the rebirth of a monument they hold dear.
Wicked revels in the glory of frenemies
The female frenemy plot takes oft-hidden tensions and makes them larger than life for viewers' enjoyment and catharsis
Shell Out for shellfish
Clams, oysters and scallops are nutrient-packed and an environmental success story
Stomping out plantar warts
I get warts on the bottom of my feet. How can I treat and prevent them?