Global clients are increasingly seeking “near instant” cross-border payments and FX trade settlement, according to the chief product officer of one of Europe’s leading payments businesses.
Speaking on day one of the Point Zero Forum conference in Zurich, Switzerland, Ashley Pope, chief product officer of BCB Group, called on policymakers to collaborate to “deliver on national, regional and global money movement.”
“Payment expectations within and across geographies are converging to ‘instant’,” he explained. “Our clients are looking for T+0 settlement and they expect our product, platform and operational staff to be able to facilitate this in a regulatory compliant manner.”
Pope’s comments come as the Forum plays host to dozens of policymakers and central bankers which will culminate in a “dialogue on interlinking fast payment systems” on the second day of the conference.
Among those joining the panel on Tuesday (2 July) are Leong Sing Chiong, the deputy managing director of the Monetary Authority of Singapore and Rabi Sankar Tavarna, the deputy governor of the Reserve Bank of India.
Pope said BCB Group’s acquisition of new clients is being driven by being able to move and exchange money “at the speed of the internet”.
“Our clients are searching for better solutions to international money movement that are speedy, reliable and cost effective,” he told Financial Promoter. “Having a blockchain leg involved helps us meets those needs.”
While client interest may have been fostered by the speed of transaction and settlement, Pope says that BCB’s focus and investment in regulatory standards has been key to sweeping up clients in recent months.
“Our focus is on giving clients the tools to traverse between crypto and fiat seamlessly and also facilitate crypto payments in the same compliant, resilient and robust manner as fiat payments,” he said.
“The challenge this poses is ensuring that we have appropriate Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls and frameworks in place. As a regulated payments and e-money institution in multiple jurisdictions, our approach is to apply the same level of scrutiny to crypto payments as we do fiat payments.”
BCB has built new controls and systems in recent months to achieve its regulatory authorisation as a Digital Assets Services Provider in France earlier this year. These new processes have been attractive to customers as well as regulators, according to Pope.
“When utilising blockchain in international payments, clients need to be reassured that although there is a different kind of value – crypto value – used to facilitate part of the transfer, they can still trust the asset used and the service provider,” he said.
“Having robust Anti-Money Laundering (AML) controls and Travel Rule compliance are key product elements that build trust with clients and enable us to protect their business.
“We have built out our crypto payment solutions to offer crypto payments as a service with the same robustness, security and resilience as we do our fiat payment flow. All of this is in preparation for Markets in Crypto-Assets Regulation (MiCA).”
- The Point Zero Forum runs from 1 – 3 July in Zurich, Switzerland. For more information on the agenda, click here.