Banks Use AI and APIs to Speed Cross-Border Payments

At EBAday in Copenhagen, BNY’s Simone Satan described banks and payment firms deploying artificial intelligence, application programming interfaces (APIs) and revised correspondent bank roles to make cross-border payments quicker and simpler.

Satan outlined efforts to match the speed and experience of local payments by using AI to automate routing, compliance checks and exception handling. She said APIs are being adopted to enable near real-time connectivity between payment systems and partners.

Axel Weiss noted the sector has lost market share in cross-border flows and said clearer service models and improved transparency are needed to regain customer trust and loyalty. He emphasized customers expect predictable timing and fees for international transfers.

Executives described practical changes to processing methods. Firms are integrating APIs to exchange payment instructions and status updates directly with partners and service providers, which reduces manual steps. AI models are being used to identify efficient payment corridors, flag likely compliance holds earlier and cut false positives that delay transfers.

Correspondent banks are being given different responsibilities. Rather than acting only as pass-through intermediaries, they are being asked to provide connectivity, add data enrichment and disclose fees more clearly.

Both speakers reported pilots and phased rollouts at their institutions. API links and machine learning models are being applied first to selected corridors and product lines before wider deployment. Operational redesigns aim to speed routing decisions and reduce manual reviews.

They added that wider progress depends on industry cooperation and on investment in common standards and interfaces so systems can interoperate. Firms will need to monitor results to verify whether new approaches reduce delays and errors while meeting regulatory and compliance requirements.