Cross-border payments

Cross-border payment: a money transfer in which the payer and the beneficiary are in different countries. For a company, this is usually a payment to a supplier, receipt of proceeds from a buyer, or payment for services: transport, licenses, maintenance.

How the money moves

A single payment passes through several links:

1. The payer’s bank debits the money and sends an instruction.
2. The message travels over a network: SWIFT, SPFS or other channels.
3. The money moves through the banks’ correspondent accounts, sometimes via one or two intermediaries.
4. On the last leg, the payment often goes through the national system of the beneficiary’s country: CIPS in China, SEPA in Europe.
5. The beneficiary’s bank checks the payment and credits the money.

Each link checks the payment under its own rules and may delay or return it.

How it differs from a domestic payment

• Two or more jurisdictions, each with its own document requirements.
• Currency control on the payer’s side.
• Currency conversion and the exchange rate.
• Fees from several banks, not one.

What to watch for

For payments from Russia, the key variable is the route. A direct transfer from a Russian bank to the supplier’s bank does not always go through. Whether a route works depends on the country, the currency, the beneficiary’s bank and current restrictions, and this changes over time.

That is why a broker’s work starts with the route. First we check which agent from our pool is currently making payments to this country and in this currency. Then we prepare the agency agreement with the execution period and the payment order with the rate and the fee, while the roubles are still in your account. More: Route selection.