Nium, which provides infrastructure for international money movement, and Relay, a digital banking platform for small businesses, said they processed more than $500 million in cross-border payments in the first year of their partnership. Nium's infrastructure now serves more than 500 Relay customers. Payments have reached 153 countries. The announcement was made at Money20/20 USA.
What it means: International payments remain one of the most expensive and opaque areas for small businesses. Fees are often hidden in the exchange rate, arrival times vary and the sender does not always know when the supplier will be paid. The model described here, where a fintech owns the customer experience and a specialist provider runs the infrastructure, has become dominant. Relay did not need licences in dozens of countries, while Nium gains volume without selling directly to end customers. Half a billion dollars is not huge on a global scale, but it shows that demand from small businesses is real. Greek small and mid-sized firms that import materials or pay partners abroad face the same issues. Within the euro area SEPA instant payments have improved things a lot, but for payments to non-euro countries the pricing gap between banks and specialist providers can be large. Comparing total cost, including the exchange rate, is worth doing regularly.
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