There’s a blindspot in the world of cross-border payments.
While many enterprises fixate on FX rates as the source of lost profits, they overlook the real culprit: operational inefficiency.
Like silent assassins, outdated platforms and manual processes routinely sap profitability without getting caught.
These hidden costs compound quickly. To stay competitive in an increasingly globalized economy, addressing them is no longer optional.
In today’s environment, profitability isn’t just about securing a good rate. It’s about developing an end-to-end workflow optimization for your payments infrastructure.
Read on to learn about the costs of cross-border business, strategies to achieve more competitive FX rates, and why a unified platform is essential for long-term growth.
Why Cross-Border Payments Costs Go Beyond the FX Rate
FX rates are the most visible cost per transaction.
While they can’t be ignored, FX rates are only one part of the payments puzzle. Indeed, many of the more substantial costs are buried in layers of operational gridlock.
Consider the cascading impact of a single failed payment.
The immediate expense involves staff time being diverted to investigate the issue, to manually process a refund, and finally, to reinitiate the transfer.
The long-term damage runs deeper.
On the other side of the transaction is a recipient who doesn’t get paid on time. This failure to deliver can strain trusted business relationships and erode customer trust.
These costs are incalculable.
More broadly, reliance on fragmented technology creates a perpetual resource drain.
Maintaining multiple software systems isn’t just inefficient—it’s expensive. After all, it requires hiring specialized staff for each system, which therefore siloes knowledge, induces corporate infighting, and ruptures workflows.
If FX rates incur a fee, running disconnected platforms is like a self-imposed tax.
There’s only one solution to escape this problem: adopting an end-to-end international payments platform that integrates every part of your workflow.
Cut Intermediaries for a Competitive FX Rate
Here’s the good news: it is possible to obtain better exchange rates.
However, in order to do so, you need to target the root problem: breaking the chains of intermediary banks.
As you know, every financial institution involved in a transaction operates like a highway toll, taking its cut along the way. These opaque and often unpredictable fees not only inflate costs—they slow down delivery times.
To get better exchange rates, you need to bypass correspondent bank networks.
By working with a high-volume global processor that connects directly to a broad network of banks, you can:
- Reduce or eliminate intermediary-related fees.
- Obtain near mid-market FX rates.
- Improve transparency with clearer pricing.
While individual firms have limited leverage, a high-volume processor can negotiate and secure wholesale FX rates that are simply unavailable to smaller players.
That type of financial leverage becomes your advantage.
Down the line, such transparency and cost-effectiveness build customer trust, as you offer them clearer and more favorable terms.
Streamline Operations With a Single Platform
What can a robust, single-API solution provide?
Beyond helping you secure better rates, a unified platform can reduce internal complexity by centralizing your payment operations.
Better yet, the right platform gives you access to the entire world.
Instead of juggling multiple systems, turnkey API solutions unlock a global payment gateway that enables:
- Faster reconciliation: A single platform eliminates the need to settle separate bank statements and reports from various systems. Finally, transactions are consolidated, freeing up your teams to focus on more strategic work (rather than administrative cleanup).
- Reduced failed transfers: API integrations validate recipient information and check network availability in real time before a transfer is sent. This verification reduces the rate of failed payments, leading to happier customers and less time spent on costly investigations.
- Enhanced data protection: A secure API is fundamental to protecting your business and customers. By leveraging a platform with robust security measures, you can ensure that sensitive payment data is encrypted against fraud and cyberattacks throughout the entire transaction lifecycle.
With a single API-driven platform, you’re not just cutting costs. You’re building a resilient and scalable foundation to grow with your business.
Focus on Revenue Opportunities
Once operational efficiency is established, you can shift your focus to a more exciting prospect: unlocking new revenue streams.
After all, a versatile cross-border payments platform does more than save you money.
It equips you with the tools to grow your business.
By offering a diverse range of financial services through a fully-integrated system, you can now capture a larger share of your customers’ spending.
For example, you can provide tailored options for payments to bank accounts, mobile wallets, or for cash pickup—all from the same interface (and without relying on separate vendors or systems).
That flexibility makes your offering more valuable to a global customer base with diverse needs.
Furthermore, a dependable and efficient network allows you to offer premium-tier services. When you can guarantee fast, secure, and transparent transactions, you can justify competitive fees that reflect the value you provide.
This transforms your payment operations from a cost center into a profit driver.
Build a Future-Proof Global Payments Strategy
As we’ve explored, the majority of enterprises face two challenges: operational inefficiency and limited reach.
Both can be solved with the right technology partner.
With UniTeller, you can eliminate siloed systems and intermediaries, streamline your operations, and expand your global footprint—all through a single API integration.
By joining our platform, you’ll gain access to a payment gateway that reaches 120+ countries, 80+ currencies, 200,000+ payment points for cash pickup, and 10,000+ banks for account credit (and mobile wallet).
Once you turn the key, you’ll have our entire product suite at your fingertips, including:
- Digital Link, an opportunity to create new revenue streams in the fintech and remittance landscape
- Cross-Border Pay, a diverse payment system that allows MTOs, corporations, banks, and retailers to move funds internationally
- Cross-Border Send, one of the world’s most competitive, real-time payment networks
- Instapago, a payment solution custom-made for retailers (with a network in over 120 countries)
- Business Payments, an API solution to streamline cross-border payments for businesses of all sizes
Whichever route you choose, UniTeller makes cross-border payments fast, affordable, and frictionless.
Your brand.
Your customers.
Your mission.
Our platform, powering the global payments strategy you’ve been envisioning.
Explore UniTeller’s solutions, and see how a unified payments ecosystem can help unlock your full competitive potential.
