By KARLA GISELA RÍOS VÁZQUEZ | EGADE BUSINESS SCHOOL
In an environment where speed and efficiency are critical, international payments are undergoing a profound transformation.
Payments account for roughly one-third of global banking revenues, making them one of the most relevant businesses within the financial system.
In the Territorio Negocios podcast, this landscape was examined in the episode “Borderless payments: how the banking business is being redefined,” featuring Luis Alfredo Hernández, professor in the Department of Finance and Business Economics at EGADE Business School, and Miguel Maxit, Head of Payments Business at Citi Mexico.
Hernández noted that losing ground in this sector means giving up a layer of client relationship and other key business attributes.
“Each payment is a data point, and today data is considered a primary source of revenue,” he said, explaining that this information enables the development of risk models, the personalization of offerings, and the anticipation of customer needs.
He also emphasized that for unbanked populations, a payment method is often the first financial product, making it a key tool for financial inclusion.
From a corporate banking perspective, Maxit pointed out that payments create a strong anchor with companies.
Connectivity between corporate systems and banking platforms strengthens client relationships. In addition, payments help generate low-cost funding and enable cross-selling of financial products.
When discussing international flows, Hernández identified that the main challenge is not the lack of technology, but limited interoperability between systems.
He contrasted the efficiency of Mexico’s domestic payment system, SPEI, which processes transaction values equivalent to 6.5 times the country’s GDP, with the slower and more costly nature of remittances.
Regarding opportunities in the international payments business, Maxit explained that global banks primarily focus on transactions related to supply chains, centralized treasury management, and dividend payments.
He noted that traditional banks have partially stepped back from consumer remittances due to regulatory risk mitigation strategies and the more competitive cost structures developed by fintech companies.
Fintech firms have captured between 20% and 30% of total funding, driven by their focus on improving the user experience.
To adapt to this evolving landscape, Maxit explained that banks are implementing strategies that combine competition, integration through APIs and ISO 20022 messaging, as well as collaborative models.
In this latter approach, he noted, banks may provide the license and infrastructure, while fintech firms manage the direct customer relationship.
Looking ahead, both experts agreed that the new financial architecture is being shaped by technological convergence.
Among the most relevant innovations, Maxit highlighted the cross-border interconnection of instant payment systems, the tokenization of deposits via smart contracts, and the use of stablecoins to enable low-cost transfers.
The episode was hosted by José Ángel de la Paz, Manager of Institutional Communications at EGADE Business School.
Territorio Negocios releases a new episode every Tuesday on Spotify, Apple Podcasts, Amazon Music, and YouTube Music.
