The banking world is shrinking, at least in theory. Transacting in multiple destinations should be easy as technical and geographic barriers are lowered or removed. In practice, transacting in multiple markets is time-consuming, complex and expensive. Different message formats must be supported as routing and reformatting payment messages is a costly business. Banks must forecast a significant 'critical mass' of transactions to justify the infrastructure costs associated with new market entry. The challenge is even greater for small and specialist banks with lower transaction volumes.rnMultiple connections required to attain reach for outbound payments and inbound connections with a bank's own customers are a substantial component of these costs. The number of message formats is large and the ensuing complexity soon manifests itself as a major cost of doing business. It is difficult to measure these costs precisely, but the amounts are daunting and can be prohibitive. Is there an alternative?
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