Post Sibos 2022: Interoperability and the power of overlay services in cross-border payments

We were all looking forward to it (all 10,000 plus attendees) and it did not disappoint… Sibos 2022 in Amsterdam was a fantastic event. It was wonderfully organised as usual. But just as important for an industry desperate to get back to doing business, it was a much-needed opportunity to connect or reconnect with clients and business partners from around the world. 

 The growth of real-time payments

As usual, there was much to learn from the conference and from discussions with fellow delegates and business partners. Several sessions looked at the continued and unstoppable growth in real-time domestic payments. Increasingly seen as a catalyst for economic growth because they improve market efficiencies and enhance liquidity in the financial system, data suggests that this trend will feed into rising cross-border volumes. Corporates and consumers are looking for new services and experiences layered on top of their payments. The most successful providers will be those who get to market quickly with new and differentiated overlay services that, enabled by richer data, enhance customer relationships and establish new revenue streams beyond payments processing.

 The push towards interoperability

Conversations through the week also turned to the topic of fragmentation (as did one of the Big Issue Debates). Fragmentation is increasing because of a whole host of drivers, including innovation, competition, digitalisation, geopolitics and regulations. For example, digital transformation of the payments landscape has created diverse ways to pay, different types of payments and interconnected services. While this may offer customers the services that they increasingly demand, the fragmentation this diversity generates can also add cost, risk and complexity to the industry and act as a blocker to the efficiency gains and other benefits that standardisation and collaboration can deliver. Enabling interoperability and unlocking the power of overlay services is surely the key to cross-border success. 

 Using overlay services to prevent fraud

On a more personal note, Sibos 2022 was a momentous step for iPiD. It was our first visit as a young Fintech and we made the most of it. Not only did our scores of meetings throughout the week confirm our core value proposition – validation of data, use of a proxy and providing interoperability in the international payments space – but they underscored the other areas where our technology and approach can deliver, such as anti-money laundering and fraud. 

 The latter is particularly important given the continued rise in authorized push payment (APP) fraud – when consumers and businesses are tricked into sending money to criminals using either stolen or invented identities. Open banking and decentralized financial services provide still further room for this problem to grow. Our unique Validate solution reduces this fraud risk by validating the payee’s name and bank account details before a payment is even made. 

This is why an industry event like Sibos is so important. Having meaningful conversations with customers, partners, colleagues and friends is how we deepen collaboration, find solutions to our shared challenges and generate opportunities for everyone.