Cross-Border Payments Strategy – Evaluating Fintech Partnerships

Overview

Cross-border payments are more than just remittances — they're a reflection of how well a bank can serve global citizens in a real-time world.

I was brought in to design and lead a cross-border payments transformation strategy that started with the high-volume U.S.–Mexico corridor and evolved into a global initiative supporting multicurrency virtual accounts, faster settlements, and smart fintech integrations.

My Role

As Head of Payments Transformation, I led the development and rollout of the bank's cross-border and multicurrency strategy:

• Defined the strategic roadmap for enabling global citizen capabilities — including faster remittances, multicurrency wallets, and improved FX handling.
• Conducted vendor evaluations across Wise, Remitly, and internal Santander rails to assess tradeoffs in cost, speed, compliance, and tech fit.
• Designed hybrid infrastructure paths combining fintech APIs and internal systems — balancing regulatory, operational, and technical considerations.
• Developed the business case across key corridors, with financial modeling for volume, margin impact, and operational costs.
• Scoped a virtual account model for multicurrency hold and conversion, tied to cross-border flows.

Key Contributions and Wins

• Cut transfer time from 3 days to under 30 minutes in U.S.–Mexico by integrating fintech partners.
• Reduced cost per transaction by 40%, surpassing SWIFT-based models and improving net margin.
• Drove 65% growth in cross-border volume within six months of launch.
• Established a scalable foundation to expand into Central/South America, Europe, and Asia-Pacific corridors.

Challenges and Solutions

• Legacy system limitations — overcame by implementing API connectors and modular integration layers.
• Dual-jurisdiction compliance — mapped AML/KYC obligations across borders and assigned operational ownership.
• Internal resistance to fintech partnerships — addressed through joint risk frameworks and clear governance.

What I Learned

• Fintech partnerships require speed, clarity, and shared accountability — and thrive when integration paths are well-defined.
• Virtual account infrastructure is essential for modern cross-border offerings, but success requires deep coordination with treasury and risk.
• Cross-border flows are culturally specific — what works in U.S.–Mexico doesn't always apply to Brazil, Colombia, or Spain.

Conclusion

This initiative redefined how the bank thinks about cross-border money movement. We proved that with the right partnerships and architecture, traditional institutions can compete on speed, flexibility, and customer experience. The result: a future-ready platform to serve globally connected individuals and businesses — and a new blueprint for cross-border innovation.