The cross-border payments market is growing rapidly, and regional financial institutions are well positioned to capture the demand.
According to FXC Intelligence, the small and medium-sized business (SMB) cross-border payments market is projected to reach $21.2 trillion by 2033. For US regional banks and credit unions, the question is whether that volume flows through their channels or someone else’s.
Why SMBs are driving cross-border payment demand
Your business customers are already operating globally, whether or not your institution is set up to support them.
For one, the rise of global e-commerce and remote work has made cross-border payments a daily operational necessity. Research from Mastercard shows that 50% of SMBs are doing more international business today than in 2021, with 65% sourcing suppliers, partners, and employees across borders.
For another, consumer demand is accelerating. From remittances to international travel and cross-border ecommerce, individual customers have grown accustomed to the same standards as SMBs in terms of:
- Mobile-first payment initiation
- Access to real-time FX rates
- Full end-to-end payment traceability
- No surprise fees on arrival
These rising standards mean that if your institution can’t deliver that experience, customers will find one that does.
What regional banks and credit unions bring to the table
Large banks and fintechs have invested heavily in cross-border payment capabilities. However, regional institutions have something those competitors can’t replicate at scale: customer trust and deep local market knowledge.
As Convera’s Joe Higginson, Director GTM – Financial Institutions – Americas, says, “[A regional bank’s] customer or member base isn’t just account numbers. They’re neighbors and community members who have come to trust their institution.”
Compared to large, multinational institutions, regional banks are also usually more agile as organizations. With less internal red tape, they can make faster decisions, deploy faster, and provide more tailored support for SMB customers. To succeed, they need the infrastructure.
The revenue case for offering cross-border payment solutions
Building a global payment infrastructure independently is expensive and slow. Many financial organizations see it as a serious operational distraction. Most regional institutions lack the in-house components to build these capabilities on their own. After all, these components can include global banking rails, multi-currency or global currency accounts systems, Swift connectivity, in-country clearing relationships, and the resources to maintain multi-jurisdictional regulatory compliance.
That complexity is often handled through specialist providers. With a white-label or API-integrated model — hosted, embedded, or fully integrated — your institution can deliver modern international payment functionality without handing the customer experience to a third party. Customers can access currencies worldwide and make payments to hundreds of countries with real-time exchange rates and end-to-end payment tracking.
Learn more about the latest infrastructure trends reshaping cross-border payments in Convera’s Payments 2026+: Liquidity in Motion report.
Compliance, ISO 20022, and what your institution needs to know
Regulatory compliance is a growing hurdle for all financial institutions, but it falls disproportionately on regional banks and credit unions, which have fewer resources in their legal and compliance teams.
Cross-border payments carry a specific compliance load, including anti-money laundering (AML) screening, know-your-customer (KYC) verification, sanctions controls, and, increasingly, ISO 20022 structured data requirements and Nacha Operating Rules with hard deadlines.
Compliance requirements rarely stay static across jurisdictions, making it essential to keep up with today’s regulatory landscape. Partnering with a specialist means they handle compliance infrastructure on your behalf, so your team isn’t held up when requirements change.
How Convera helps banks and credit unions move faster
Convera works with thousands of regional banks and credit unions across the US, providing white-label international payment capabilities that can plug directly into your existing digital banking channels.
With more than 60 global licenses, coverage across over 140 currencies and 200 countries and territories, and integration options that can match your institution’s technical maturity, Convera removes the complexity without jeopardizing your customer relationships. As a result, you can safeguard the trust your institution has earned with global capabilities.
