<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2026/03/2-4.webp" alt="How Branded Wallets Increase Customer Loyalty &amp; Lifetime Value" title="" id="mplsyu6h4" width="100%" height="253">In today's competitive market, businesses are in a constant battle to not only attract new customers but also to retain them. Customer acquisition is expensive, and every lost customer represents a significant loss of potential revenue. The solution lies in building a loyal customer base, and one of the most effective ways to achieve this is by creating a seamless, branded ecosystem that keeps your customers engaged. This is where branded wallets, powered by a robust prepaid card stack, come into play.<h2 class="heading-node" id="t4wl002u5">The Modern Customer Engagement Challenge</h2>Traditional loyalty programs, while beneficial, often fall short of creating true "stickiness." Customers are inundated with loyalty cards and apps that offer generic rewards and a disjointed experience. This often leads to low engagement and a failure to capture the customer's long-term loyalty. Businesses need a more integrated and value-driven approach to keep their customers drive repeat engagement.<h2 class="heading-node" id="l4v1v9cec">What are Branded Wallets and How Do They Help?</h2>A branded wallet is a digital wallet customized and offered by a non-financial institution, such as a retail brand, an e-commerce platform, or a service provider. It allows customers to store funds, make payments, and access exclusive rewards, all within the brand's ecosystem.Consider these use cases:<ul class="list-node" id="sqr2y9bqe"><li>For a large retail chain: A branded wallet can store loyalty points that are instantly convertible to cash for in-store purchases. This solves the customer's problem of tracking points and offers real-time benefits, encouraging them to choose the store over a competitor.</li><li>For an FMCG company: A wallet can be used to offer direct-to-consumer cashback rewards on products purchased from any store. The customer simply scans the receipt, and the cashback is credited to their wallet, solving the challenge of brand loyalty in a multi-brand retail environment.</li></ul>These wallets are more than just a payment tool; they are a direct channel to your customers and a powerful driver of loyalty.<h2 class="heading-node" id="y7tawd1m2">The Hurdles of Building Your Own Wallet</h2>While the benefits are clear, the path to launching a branded wallet is fraught with challenges for a typical company. The journey is complex and resource-intensive, involving:<ul class="list-node" id="kdnkszzpj"><li>Licensing and Regulations: Navigating the labyrinth of financial regulations, including obtaining the necessary licenses to operate a payment instrument, is a significant barrier.</li><li>Compliance and Security: Adhering to strict compliance mandates like KYC (Know Your Customer) and AML (Anti-Money Laundering) is non-negotiable. Building a secure infrastructure to prevent fraud and protect customer data requires specialized expertise.</li><li>Technical Complexity: Developing the core technology, ensuring high uptime, and integrating with various payment networks is a massive undertaking that distracts from your core business.</li></ul>These obstacles can make the prospect of launching a wallet seem daunting, if not impossible, for most companies.<h2 class="heading-node" id="vrwyhj2e9">The M2P Solution: Your Plug-and-Play Digital Stack</h2>We provide a comprehensive, plug-and-play Prepaid Card Stack that takes care of all the heavy lifting. Think of it as an out-of-the-box solution that allows you to launch your own branded wallet without the associated complexities.Our digital stack provides:<ul class="list-node" id="i94eroufe"><li>Pre-built Compliance: Handle all the regulatory and licensing requirements, ensuring your program is fully compliant from day one.</li><li>Bank-Grade Security: Built with robust, bank-grade security and risk management protocols to protect you and your customers.</li><li>Seamless Integration: Suite of flexible APIs allows for quick and easy integration, empowering you to build a feature-rich wallet app and get to market faster.</li></ul>By partnering with M2P, you can overcome the challenges and focus on what you do best: serving your customers.<h2 class="heading-node" id="5s8kcwezm">Unlock Business Growth with a Branded Wallet</h2>Once you have the right foundation, you can unlock the transformative power of a branded wallet. Benefits:<ul class="list-node" id="nwo1pyv0f"><li>Seamless Payment Experience - By offering a frictionless, one-click payment process, reduce complexity from transactions and encourage repeat purchases.</li><li>Personalized Rewards and Offers - Branded wallets allow you to offer spend-based personalized rewards and discounts that are truly relevant and meaningful.</li><li>Enhanced Brand Engagement - A branded wallet keeps your brand top-of-mind. Every transaction, every notification, and every reward is an opportunity to reinforce your brand's value proposition.</li><li>Exclusive Access and Benefits - Offer exclusive access to sales and new products to your wallet users, making them feel like valued insiders and increasing their loyalty to your brand.</li></ul><h2 class="heading-node" id="z4weig4qa">Driving Sustainable Growth through Integrated Wallet Solutions</h2>In a market where customer loyalty is a key competitive differentiator, branded wallets have evolved from a supplementary tool to a strategic necessity. They are a powerful tool for building a loyal customer base and increasing customer lifetime value. By leveraging a plug-and-play solution, you can create a branded wallet experience that not only enhance the customer experience but also drives significant business growth and creates a sustainable competitive advantage.Follow us on&nbsp;<a class="link fui-Link ___1idfs5o f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/m2pfintech/mycompany/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="link fui-Link ___1idfs5o f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" href="https://twitter.com/m2pfintech" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for insightful fintech bytes curated for curious minds like you.

How Branded Wallets Enhance Customer Stickiness and Lifetime Value

<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2025/09/upi-blog-04-2.webp" alt="PPI Discoverability on UPI: The Next Frontier in Digital Payments" title="" id="ex54l76jg" width="100%" height="60">India’s digital payment landscape saw a seismic shift, with the Unified Payments Interface (UPI) processing a staggering over <a class="link Hyperlink SCXW221809982 BCX8" href="https://www.pib.gov.in/PressReleasePage.aspx?PRID=2079544" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">₹23.49 lakh crores</a> across 16.58 billion transactions, reflecting an impressive 45% year-on-year growth. This remarkable feat has reinforced <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/cardless-cash-withdrawals-upi-and-the-future-of-seamless-banking/" target="_blank">UPI</a>’s position as the cornerstone for India’s transition into a cashless economy.&nbsp;&nbsp;Building on this momentum, the Reserve Bank of India (RBI) has unveiled PPI Discoverability on UPI, an initiative aimed at democratizing digital payments. This feature introduces unprecedented levels of flexibility and convenience, pushing the boundaries of financial inclusion across the nation.&nbsp;To understand the transformative impact of UPI Discoverability on businesses and users alike, let’s understand what it is.&nbsp;<h2 class="heading-node" id="50fdle25r" style="text-align: left">What is UPI Discoverability?  &nbsp;</h2>UPI Discoverability refers to the integration of Prepaid Instruments (PPI) with Third-Party Application Providers (TPAPs). In simple words, PPI users can now link their wallets/cards to any UPI apps and make payments.&nbsp;PPI users no longer need to juggle between apps and accounts; rather, they can enjoy a unified and seamless payment experience that bridges the gap between PPI wallets and UPI. Moreover, it safeguards users from challenges associated with PPI providers such accessible funds in their wallets, even in cases of service disruptions.  This interoperability empowers customers to maintain their funds in wallets for seamless payments, reducing the need for frequent debits from their bank savings accounts.&nbsp;&nbsp;<h2 class="heading-node" id="cjcid7jqw" style="text-align: left">Benefits of PPI wallets with TPAPs</h2>While the integration of PPI with TPAPs is set to augment digital payment adoption, particularly for small-value transactions, here are some benefits.&nbsp;1. Expanding user choice - Enables users to access a vast number of payment options by linking their PPI wallets to widely used UPI-enabled applications such as PhonePe and Google Pay. This connectivity ensures seamless transactions across multiple platforms, enhancing user experience and empowering consumers to choose payment modes aligned with their preferences.&nbsp;2. Reducing transaction friction - With PPI wallets operating directly within third-party applications, the payment process becomes significantly more streamlined. Users no longer need to toggle between apps to complete transactions, as they can finalize payments through their preferred UPI platform. This reduction in procedural steps accelerates transaction time and enhances the overall user experience, making digital payments more accessible and efficient.&nbsp;3. Strengthening ecosystem interoperability - Interoperability between PPI wallets and TPAPs strengthens the digital payment ecosystem by allowing users to transact over 50 million UPI-accepting merchants without being confined to specific wallet providers. This seamless integration not only simplifies merchant acceptance but also promotes healthy competition among service providers.&nbsp;&nbsp;4. Boosting adoption and user engagement - The convenience and familiarity of using PPI wallets via popular applications drives increased engagement, especially for small-value transactions. This shift is instrumental in fostering a more cashless economy and expanding the reach of digital financial solutions.&nbsp;5. Improves financial management - Several TPAPs offer features like real-time transaction tracking, spending analytics, and budgeting tools, enabling users to gain deeper insights into their financial habits. By leveraging these functionalities, consumers can make more informed decisions about their expenditures and savings, ultimately fostering improved financial health and well-being.&nbsp;However, unlocking the full potential of PPI wallets on UPI requires meeting specific regulatory and technical prerequisites.&nbsp;<h2 class="heading-node" id="thpqsdnxk" style="text-align: left">Leading the Charge in PPI Wallet on UPI Integration &nbsp;</h2>At the forefront of this groundbreaking UPI initiative is M2P Fintech, an NPCI-affiliated partner enabling wallet integration with TPAPs on UPI. Our full stack cloud-native UPI platform is designed to scale and meet your regulatory requirements offering a comprehensive, end-to-end UPI stack. This unified framework empowers financial institutions of all sizes to efficiently launch and scale their UPI programs with ease and precision. Our platform accelerates your go-to-market speed with&nbsp;&nbsp;<ul class="list-node" id="hnuj699ux"><li>100% API Coverage&nbsp;</li></ul><ul class="list-node" id="qu9vw3pvd"><li>Integration with low code platform&nbsp;</li></ul><ul class="list-node" id="fm847ocr5"><li>Limitless scalability&nbsp;</li></ul><ul class="list-node" id="nuq436nmq"><li>Economical TCO&nbsp;</li></ul><ul class="list-node" id="yoylwo24k"><li>Modular Architecture&nbsp;&nbsp;</li></ul>Our platform ensures faster, smoother, and more secure transactions, empowering your business to deliver exceptional payment experiences.&nbsp;Ready to empower businesses with our tailored UPI Switch solutions? &nbsp;Contact us today to demo <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/contact-us/?activeKey=1&amp;utm_source=Website&amp;utm_medium=Website&amp;utm_campaign=Payments_Blogs" target="">M2P’s UPI Stack</a>.<a class="link fui-Link ___1idfs5o f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" href="https://m2pfintech.com/newsletter/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Subscribe</a>&nbsp;to our newsletter and get the latest fintech news, views, and insights directly to your inbox.Follow us on&nbsp;<a class="link fui-Link ___1idfs5o f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/m2pfintech/mycompany/" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="link fui-Link ___1idfs5o f3rmtva f1ewtqcl fyind8e f1k6fduh f1w7gpdv fk6fouc fjoy568 figsok6 f1hu3pq6 f11qmguv f19f4twv f1tyq0we f1g0x7ka fhxju0i f1qch9an f1cnd47f fqv5qza f1vmzxwi f1o700av f13mvf36 f1cmlufx f9n3di6 f1ids18y f1tx3yz7 f1deo86v f1eh06m1 f1iescvh ftqa4ok f2hkw1w fhgqx19 f1olyrje f1p93eir f1h8hb77 f1x7u7e9 f10aw75t fsle3fq f17ae5zn" href="https://twitter.com/m2pfintech" target="_blank" rel="noreferrer noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for insightful fintech bytes curated for curious minds like you

How is Wallet Discoverability on UPI set to Transform Digital Payments?

<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/m2p-website-file/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2023/02/Cracking-Tokenization-for-Tabby-Blog-Banner-V3_Fintech-trends-banner-1.webp" alt="M2P Fintech" title="" width="100%" height="253">Buy Now, Pay Later (BNPL) has taken the e-commerce world by storm in the past few years. Driving a 30% increase in conversions and an 85% rise in average order value, BNPL has earned merchant confidence and customer trust.With 97% smartphone penetration, the UAE is one of the avid adopters of BNPL and contactless payments in the Middle East. Tabby Pay is a leading BNPL platform in the UAE that caters to over two million buyers and 4000 top brands and small businesses. Tabby issues virtual cards that customers can activate and use on the Tabby app for free. Shoppers can add the card to their favorite digital wallet and tap at the POS terminal to divide their payments into installments.&nbsp;But one key issue plagued Tabby’s operation.It was card data security.Let us quickly give you more context on the challenge.&nbsp;&nbsp;As a tech-savvy population, the UAE residents are not fans of using physical cards while shopping. Contactless cards and mobile wallets like Apple Pay are preferred options for a frictionless payment experience.In fact, over 80% of consumers in the UAE prefer using iPhones and other Apple services and gadgets over Google and Android. So, when they receive a new card from Tabby, they add it to the Apple wallet on their iPhones to tap and pay using NFC.&nbsp;Now, security is a critical concern in this digital era. Even though contactless payments have one of the lowest fraud instances, there is still a fair possibility of card data and sensitive information getting stolen and misused. Data breaches could cost companies millions and billions in losses.&nbsp;&nbsp;To avoid these vulnerabilities and to keep cardholder data safe, Tabby&nbsp;enabled tokenization for Google, Android, and Apple wallets. Now Tabby’s payments run on M2P prepaid stack. And we also handled the responsibility of tokenization for the BNPL player.&nbsp;<h2 class="heading-node" id="4yxyxvp76" style="text-align: left">What is Tokenization?</h2>Tokenization is a security process that helps protect&nbsp;card data by masking the card account number with a single use randomized alphanumeric character of the same length called a token. Associated with a card, platform, or device, the payment tokens are issued in real-time and used during payment, after which they are discarded. To know more about payment tokenization, <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/how-does-payment-tokenization-work/">click here.</a>&nbsp;In mobile wallets, a single card can have multiple unique tokens associated with specific shopping channels and issuing banks. Token Service Providers (TSPs) play a significant role in managing the lifecycle of a token via statuses such as requested, active, inactive, suspended, and ended.&nbsp;<h2 class="heading-node" id="n5xh14nzp" style="text-align: left">How M2P Cracked Tokenization for Apple Wallet?</h2>M2P acted as the Issuer Token Service Provider (ITSP) and processed the authentication layer for Tabby, which included demographic checks, card authentication, and issuer configuration. Our ITSP solution has been designed to do all the heavy lifting of the tokenization process and makes life simpler for the issuer when it comes to program management, technology, security, compliance, reporting, and token Life cycle management, among many others. Even the rules were made configurable as per issuer convenience.Handling tokenization protocols for Google and Android wallets is simpler when compared to Apple wallets. The Apple wallet tokenization process is complex and challenging as there are multiple stringent protocols that are difficult to understand and comply with.&nbsp;To activate tokenization for prepaid cards, we had to enable seamless integration between the card payment network - Visa, BNPL player - Tabby, and the digital wallet provider - Apple/Google/Samsung. As backend integrations are our stronghold, we managed the process without hassles. Our existing Visa certification gave us further edge in managing tokenization with ease.&nbsp;Here is a glimpse into how tokenization would happen every time a customer adds the Tabby Card to the Pay wallet.&nbsp;<ul class="list-node" id="05pae3esr"><li>When a customer adds a Tabby card to their Apple/Google/Samsung wallet, the request is sent from Visa’s in-app SDK in the Tabby Mobile Application to the Visa network. For this, all the secure data required for the request is sent as a secure message from M2P to Tabby with a unique message identifier.&nbsp;</li><li>Visa, the Token Service Provider, identifies the Bank Identification Number (BIN) from the payload (through their Visa SDK) and sends it to the issuer processor.&nbsp;</li><li>M2P is the Issuer processor (also, a token service provider) that authenticates the card details along with the identity of the cardholder.&nbsp;</li><li>Then, M2P instructs Visa to issue or not issue tokens. Visa acts in accordance to the instructions and sends the token information to the digital wallet to store&nbsp;</li><li>M2P keeps Tabby updated on everything (every step involved in the token creation process as a notification) happening throughout the process.&nbsp;</li><li>The tokenized cards can now be used by cardholders without their card information getting exposed.&nbsp;</li></ul>The process is done only for the first time when the customer adds the card to any digital wallet/ wearables. Once complete, the cardholder can use the card for any purpose with total and seamless control over the card.&nbsp;M2P ITSP solution not only makes the tokenization process simpler but also helps Tabby provide the necessary reports to Apple and Visa on all the required information by the latter.&nbsp;If you want to know more about tokenization, and how it can help your business?&nbsp;Write to us at <a class="link" href="mailto:business@m2pfintech.com">business@m2pfintech.com</a>.&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/newsletter/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Subscribe</a>&nbsp;to our newsletter and get the latest fintech news, views, and insights, directly to your inbox.Follow us on&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/m2pfintech/mycompany/" target="_blank" rel="noopener">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://twitter.com/m2pfintech" target="_blank" rel="noopener">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for insightful fintech tales curated for curious minds like you.

Cracking Tokenization for BNPL Player Tabby

<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/m2p-website-file/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2022/04/banner1251-6-1.webp" alt="M2P Fintech" title="" id="t5u9jgsxm" width="100%" height="317">The advent of international payments has been long-standing in the financial world, facilitating commerce and trade. Be it sending money back home or international business contracts, today’s rising global commerce can be attributed to the growing volume of international digital <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/future-of-payments-processing-matched-with-industry-needs/">payments</a>.It is a valuable ally for businesses and individuals who wish to enjoy commerce or transactions across borders. The surge in cross-border B2B payments is exponential since the penetration of the internet. With predictions of 30% growth in the next three years, cross-border e-commerce has taken off to exponential heights in these 2 years.Also, the businesses that offer software as a Service (SaaS) heavily depend on cross-border payments as their demographic is spread across the globe. In recent years, these players have played a monumental part in increasing the volume of cross-border transactions.The advancements in Fintech today empower many businesses and individuals to make instant payments. Businesses can experience stress-free invoicing, tax handling, and recurring billing in a few clicks. They also have access to top-notch support portals to handle any issues that arise out of a transaction.Fintech companies experiment with technologies like <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/blockchain-and-fintech-use-cases-and-applications/">Blockchain</a> to bring more transparency and Artificial Intelligence for better regulatory compliance.<h2 class="heading-node" id="2511" style="text-align: justify">What are cross border payments?</h2>Cross border payments happen when the payee and the recipient are in different countries. These transactions can be retail, wholesale or recurring in nature. Decades back, the electronic messaging system served as a crucial mode to enable cross border payments.The cross border payments industry now utilizes many payment modes like <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/credit-card-processing-a-definitive-guide/">credit cards</a>, cross-border <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/what-is-a-payment-gateway-and-payment-switch-understanding-the-basics-of-payments-architecture/">payment gateways</a>, <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/tale-of-money-transfers-from-hawala-to-one-click-remittances/">wire transfers</a>, e-wallet, distributed ledger technology, <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/api-the-power-that-drives-new-age-banking-ecosystems/">APIs,</a> etc., every day to facilitate international payments.<h3 class="heading-node" id="d1xc42b0j" style="text-align: justify">Cross-border payment methods</h3>In fact, we can classify cross-border payment methods as Past, Present, and Near Future, where every advancement is an incremental leap in payment facilitation and user experience.<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com//m2p-website-file/marekting-cms/m2p-blog/2025/05/1-1.webp" alt="Cross border payment" title="" id="py8ljf39p" width="100%" height="253">The Past<h3 class="heading-node" id="8e54" style="text-align: justify">Wire transfer</h3>It is an electronic transfer of money, where the money is ‘wired’ from one account to another. If you are initiating a domestic transfer, it is called a “Bank wire.” In the case of cross-border payment, wire transfer is interchangeably referred to as “Remittances.” It is the oldest method of initiating a cross-border payment.<h3 class="heading-node" id="c67b" style="text-align: justify">How does it work?</h3>Here the payee visits their designated branch and provides the details of the receiver. Those details include the bank account number, name, recipient country’s currency, SWIFT code, IBAN (International Bank Account Number), bank address, amount to be transferred, etc.The currency rate is fixed before the transaction. The details are directly sent to the recipient branch or via an intermediary bank. That’s not all; the payee also has to pay certain charges like service tax, conversion charges, and other applicable charges. Based on the instructions, the recipient bank credits the amount to the recipient’s account within 5 working days or more at times.<h2 class="heading-node" id="dd8c" style="text-align: justify">Payment Service Providers (PSP)</h2>A popular option for immigrants, Payment Service Providers (PSP), effect transactions either in the form of physical cash or online payments.<h3 class="heading-node" id="b848" style="text-align: justify">How does it work?</h3>The sender visits the agency with the current nation’s currency and proper ID proof for physical cash. The recipient can visit the agency at his location and collect the money after dedicating transfer charges to completing the ID verification process. For online transactions, the sender visits the PSPs apps or websites. Within a few clicks, money flies over the nations and reaches the receiver’s bank account directly.<h2 class="heading-node" id="8db4" style="text-align: justify">The Present</h2><h3 class="heading-node" id="affb" style="text-align: justify">Credit cards</h3>It is a reliable mode of payment while traveling abroad. A <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/credit-card-processing-a-definitive-guide/">credit card</a> eliminates the need to carry cash in hand. They also offer attractive benefits like interest-free loan periods (a month or more), reward points, gift coupons, shopping offers, easy EMI options, travel insurance perks, etc.<h3 class="heading-node" id="0caa" style="text-align: justify">Forex cards</h3>Many banks and financial institutions offer <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/forex-cards-international-travel-made-effortless/">forex cards</a> explicitly designed for globetrotters. They can make money transfers across multiple countries with a single card. It helps the users avoid currency exchange rate fluctuations by locking in the rates while getting the card.<h3 class="heading-node" id="0b4e" style="text-align: justify">Digital wallets, ewallets &amp; mobile wallets</h3><ul class="list-node" id="th56mo1sb"><li>These are virtual wallets that can store money and customer information (credit card/debit card number, date, bank details, etc.).</li><li>eWallets are used like <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/prepaid-cards-101-a-definitive-guide-for-growth-and-profitability/">prepaid cards</a> where we can store our money.</li><li>Digital Wallets are used to store card numbers, account numbers, expiry dates, IFSC codes, etc. This confidential information resides in the cloud.</li><li>Digital wallets can be used on desktops, whereas mobile wallets can be used on mobile devices.</li></ul><h3 class="heading-node" id="f39a" style="text-align: justify">MasterCard Send</h3>Initiated by the global network provider, MasterCard Send allows both businesses/ individuals to make real-time cross-border payments to the recipient’s debit card number. It does not rely on the bank’s ACH system, so there is no need for a routing or account number to send the money across.<h3 class="heading-node" id="a125" style="text-align: justify">Visa Direct</h3>Visa Direct offers push payments to individuals/businesses across the globe. The business/user can tap into Visa’s global network and send payments in real-time or by a maximum time limit of 24 hours.<h3 class="heading-node" id="c742" style="text-align: justify">SWIFT GPI</h3>SWIFT GPI or Global Payment Initiative aims for transparent and faster cross-border payments. It breaks down all the costs involved, and the payee can keep tabs on where the payment is at any given time. While the older methods of cross-border payments are traditionally mysterious, SWIFT GPI unveils the mystery and significantly increases the speed.<h2 class="heading-node" id="80ee" style="text-align: justify">The Near Future</h2><h3 class="heading-node" id="05b1" style="text-align: justify">Open Banking APIs</h3>Open Banking<a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/api-the-power-that-drives-new-age-banking-ecosystems/"> Application Programming Interface (APIs)</a> aims to simplify the complicated procedures of cross-border payments. As it democratizes access to customer and their data, it becomes easier for fintechs and other financial institutions to build products that address their target demographic version of cross-border payment app.<h3 class="heading-node" id="f3c8" style="text-align: justify">Decentralized Ledger Technology (DLT)</h3>A term made popular by Blockchain tech, DLT can be applied to cross-border payments’ three most challenging aspects. They are backend processes, compliance, and as a means of payment. DLT can speed up the backend process while offering transparency at every step of the transaction. It can also reduce compliance-related costs and can introduce an entirely new method of payment.<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/m2p-website-file/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2021/05/2-1.webp" alt="M2P Fintech" title="" width="100%" height="253"><h3 class="heading-node" id="yj7z6hw5g" style="text-align: justify">How do cross-border payments work?</h3>Cross-border payment is a complex mechanism that involves many players. It carries many fees right from currency conversion to the respective country’s tax and other service charges. Both domestic and overseas entities work together to accomplish the transfer.For example, when a software purchase transaction is initiated, the “correspondent bank” requests the money from the “respondent bank.” Here both the correspondent and the respondent bank will have their colleague bank across the globe. So, the funds will leave the buyer’s bank and reach that bank’s counterpart present in the merchant country, ready for remittance. Then the remittance is transferred to the merchant’s bank for settlement. So, in short, banks work with other players like payment service providers; to transfer the money while navigating currency conversions, different tax regimes, transaction fees, etc. Further, slowing down the process.One of the most popular banks for forex settlements is the CLS bank. Founded in 2002, explicitly for mitigating risk and settlement of Forex transactions, CLS works with 18 currencies in cross-border payments. Even though it has been instrumental in making forex payments easier, it does have some drawbacks. With new emerging currencies gaining global transaction volume, CLS is limited by 18 currencies and is yet to catch up with technological advancements of member countries’ payment infrastructure.To create a seamless flow for the cross-border payments, some changes must be incorporated quickly to ensure better penetration across the value chains:<ul class="list-node" id="cp59ifqob"><li>Applications of Real-Time Payments will offer much-needed transparency. The parties involved can track the transaction status anytime. For example, this is what SWIFT GPI is trying to achieve. It has the potential to be replicated in other payment methods.</li><li>The time factor taken to complete a cross-border payment should be brought to days from weeks. Small and Medium Businesses (SMBs) should have better access to these payments as cash flow is the backbone of their operations. Unpredictable delays and complex transactions will hamper its growth.</li><li>Today’s customers, both retail and corporate, are looking forward to solutions that adapt to their evolving needs. They also favor the platforms where the solutions are embedded for all access.</li><li>Customers today prefer a choice of methods and security when initiating transactions. A flexible ecosystem where transaction history, audit, and reconciliation can give valuable insight and a seamless experience.</li><li>Integrations are a much-needed factor to bring about global interoperability and linking fragmented value chains. No matter the transaction origin, the experience of the transaction must be seamless for the merchant.</li><li>Typically, the stakeholders in this transaction flow more often follow the same regulations. They can be bifurcated into ‘front end’ and ‘back end’ stakeholders. The Front-end players are the Tech companies who look at the ‘data’ aspect of the transaction and can have lighter compliance standards. The onus should lie in compliance with balance-sheet exposure, counterparty exposure, and liquidity for the backend players.</li></ul><h2 class="heading-node" id="3198" style="text-align: justify">How is fintech disrupting cross-border payments?</h2>With Blockchain taking the lead in the fintech space, digital currencies can be used in cross-border payments instead of national currencies limited by geography. As digital currencies are built with technology, it provides a bread crumb trail for the transaction trace and reduces the need for intermediaries. Also, the DLT applications of Blockchain can provide transparency and security at the core. Along with these innovations, Fintech also offers the following benefits:<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/m2p-website-file/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2021/05/3-1-1.webp" alt="M2P Fintech" title="" width="100%" height="253"><ul class="list-node" id="4nv0g5ncq"><li>Constant enhancement: Fintech giants are leveraging the latest technologies like Blockchain to make cross-border payments completely transparent and tamper-proof. They concentrate more on the user experience and focus on making complex processes swift and convenient.</li><li>Ease of use: Virtual wallets allow the users to stay free from making a note of all the passwords, account numbers and worry about their confidentiality. You can feed all your confidential information with a single tap and complete your purchase.</li><li>Convenient:&nbsp;Forex cards are travel allies. It makes our wallets light when we are traveling to different countries handling different currencies. We can simply swipe on the retail outlets or wave it with a contactless card. Like an ATM card, it allows us to withdraw the local cash in any country (fed while receiving). The best part is few banks are waiving the ATM withdrawal fees, cross-currency charges, etc.</li><li>User experience:&nbsp;Cross-border payment gateways help businesses to sell across borders. As they comply with PCI data security standards, customers feel secure while buying from a foreign website. Consumers can purchase by simply typing their email ids and enjoy rapid check-out.</li><li>Marketing mate:&nbsp;Businesses can use the buying patterns of the consumers collected through their wallets and retarget them with attractive offers. Wallets offer rewards to buyers in the name of cashback. This money can be utilized only in their portal and increase the sales of the online platform.</li></ul>Over the past decade, cross-border payments industry innovations are drastic and soaring high, with creative Fintech minds entering the space each day. Cross-border payments are no longer a daunting task consuming more time and effort. And we can expect many more innovations that make cross-border payments a secure and transparent exercise.To know more about cross-border payments, write to us at business@m2pfintech.com<a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/newsletter/">Subscribe</a>&nbsp;to our newsletter and get the latest fintech news, views, and insights, directly to your inbox.Follow us on&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/m2pfintech/mycompany/">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://twitter.com/m2pfintech">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for insightful fintech tales curated for curious minds like you.

Cross- Border Payments: A Swift Money Flow Across Borders

<img src="https://m2p-website-file.s3.ap-south-1.amazonaws.com/m2p-website-file/marketing-cms/m2p-blog/2022/05/banner-2.webp" alt="M2P Fintech" title="" width="100%" height="383">The word <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/remittance-with-upi-a-giant-leap-for-cross-border-payments/">“Remittance”</a> means money sent to an individual in another place. The Latin origin of the word means “To let go or to send.” As the human civilization evolved, so did remittances. It was earlier a bill payment done via mail or a cheque sent for an appliance purchase. But, today, remittances are a much more complex phenomenon. It is hard-earned money of the immigrants sent back home to their families.Until the last decade, immigrants were heavily reliant on banks or FOREX brokers to relay their earnings back home. It came associated with a hefty fee and a longer waiting time of a week or more. It involved multiple players, the differences in conversion fees, processing fees, and so on.But, then again, over the years, Fintech’s intervention has changed the remittance landscape for the better. The primary advantage is the time taken to send the funds across the border. What takes weeks to complete, Fintech does it in seconds. They have turned the tables by providing competitive exchange rates, which were almost close to existing market rates.They have enabled multiple ways of currency transfers where the remitter can send money via:<ul class="list-node" id="2w6efqopb"><li>Enabling customers to see multiple exchanges fees at one place and then make money transfer within the platform — TransferWise (now Wise)</li><li>Doing remittances in bulk and passing on the savings to the Customers.</li><li>Internet-enabled smartphones</li></ul>The advent of account-linked mobile wallets like Google Pay, Apple Pay, Venmo has brought down the transactional fees to a bare minimum or no fees at all. Meaning all the international transfers happen through an app. They have provided the option for the customer to choose their preferred method of payment, right from the comfort of their homes.In fact, India holds first place in the remittance industry. It has averaged US$76 billion in 2020, despite the general decline in remittance across the globe as per World Bank. The main reason why India is the leading country in the remittance index is because of its large diaspora of expatriate population. It is closely followed by China and Mexico in the second and third places, respectively.Additionally, Fintech has unlocked vast amounts of user data, helping to better understand user behavior. The data provides utmost detail right down to the kind of phone used, frequency of transfers, locations, etc.<h2 class="heading-node" id="57f8">What are Fintechs doing?</h2>From extending reach of their in-app payment and transfer solutions, Fintechs are evolving how the age-old Exchanges have been working. While tying up with Banks and Exchanges in regions like GCC and executing remittances on their own in regions like the USA &amp; Europe.<ul class="list-node" id="fq5idmmwt"><li>Extending Banking to the Unbanked:</li></ul>The Fintech catering to low-income-income migrant workers, primarily in the GCC, provides them with solutions like debit cards, bill, payment, and mobile top-up facilities in-app. These fintech players are extending banking to the unbanked, giving them proper accounts, shopping online, and building their credit histories. Such customers’ data will further help them roll out services like Insurance and Credit (loans). — NOW Money<ul class="list-node" id="8v0gg4syi"><li>Blockchain-Powered Digi-wallet:</li></ul>Fintech players are taking remittance to another level where cash is converted as <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/central-bank-digital-currency-cbdc-101-a-primer/">digital currency</a> using blockchain-powered Digi-wallet. The money can be transferred to anyone having the wallet app installed (more like Intra-app transfer) using this wallet. They further create an ecosystem where the App’s user can do transactions anywhere, without even considering converting the digital currency to actual currency. — MenaPayWith <a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/blog/the-rise-of-digital-payments/" target="">digital payments</a> shrinking the world, transferring money across borders is now the new normal. New-age Fintech is constantly innovating the best practices to offer enhanced transparency while maintaining high-level security.<a class="link" href="https://m2pfintech.com/newsletter/">Subscribe</a>&nbsp;to our newsletter and get the latest fintech news, views, and insights, directly to your inbox.Follow us on&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://www.linkedin.com/company/m2pfintech/mycompany/">LinkedIn</a>&nbsp;and&nbsp;<a class="link" href="https://twitter.com/m2pfintech">Twitter</a>&nbsp;for insightful fintech tales curated for curious minds like you.

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