Twenty years ago, international transfers took days. Today, money can move across continents in seconds. How? Let's look under the hood at the technology making instant global payments possible.
The Old Way: SWIFT and Correspondent Banking
Traditional international transfers use SWIFT (Society for Worldwide Interbank Financial Telecommunication) and correspondent banking networks.
How it worked: 1. Your bank sends a message to SWIFT 2. SWIFT routes to correspondent banks 3. Each bank in the chain processes and forwards 4. Finally reaches recipient's bank 5. Recipient's bank credits the account
- 3-5 business days typical
- Each bank takes a fee
- Limited transparency
- Only works during banking hours
- Multiple failure points
The New Way: Modern Payment Rails
Modern remittance companies like Stratum Remit use a different approach entirely.
Direct Integration with Local Payment Systems
Instead of going through SWIFT, we connect directly to local payment networks:
In Nigeria: Direct integration with NIP (Nigeria Inter-Bank Payment System) and mobile money APIs
In Kenya: Direct M-Pesa API integration for instant mobile money
In Ghana: MTN MoMo and bank APIs for same-day delivery
In India: UPI (Unified Payments Interface) for instant bank transfers
Pre-Funded Local Accounts
We maintain funded accounts in each destination country. When you send money:
- We debit your payment method in the US
- We simultaneously credit from our local account to your recipient
- We settle between our accounts later
This eliminates the correspondent banking chain entirely.
Real-Time Payment Networks
Many countries have built instant payment infrastructure:
India: UPI
- Processes billions of transactions monthly
- 24/7/365 availability
- Sub-second settlement
- Connects all banks in India
UK: Faster Payments
- Instant transfers between UK banks
- 24/7 operation
- Up to £1 million per transaction
Europe: SEPA Instant
- Pan-European instant payments
- Under 10 seconds
- 24/7/365
Africa: Mobile Money
- M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, etc.
- Instant by design
- Massive agent networks
- Financial inclusion for unbanked
Our Technology Stack
API-First Architecture
- Payment partner APIs for each corridor
- Banking APIs for funding
- Identity verification APIs for KYC
- Exchange rate APIs for pricing
This allows us to route payments through the fastest path automatically.
Real-Time FX Engine
Currency conversion happens in milliseconds: 1. Pull rates from multiple sources 2. Apply our margin 3. Lock rate for transaction 4. Execute conversion 5. Display to user
All in under 100 milliseconds.
Smart Routing
- Speed (fastest option available)
- Cost (lowest fees for us = best rates for you)
- Reliability (historical success rates)
- Limits (transaction size constraints)
Event-Driven Processing
- Transaction received → Instantly processed
- Status updates → Streamed immediately
- Delivery confirmation → Real-time notification
Mobile Money APIs
Mobile money has been a game-changer for African remittances. Here's how it works:
M-Pesa API Example
- Authentication: Secure API key exchange
- Request: POST /transfers with phone number and amount
- Processing: M-Pesa validates and credits
- Callback: Webhook confirms success/failure
- Notification: Recipient gets SMS instantly
Total time: Under 30 seconds for most transfers.
The Role of AI
AI enhances our payment infrastructure:
Fraud Detection
Machine learning models analyze patterns to catch fraud in real-time without slowing down legitimate transfers.
Route Optimization
AI predicts which payment path will be fastest and most reliable based on current conditions.
Failure Prediction
Models predict potential failures and preemptively route around problems.
What's Next
Blockchain and Stablecoins
We're watching blockchain developments closely. Stablecoins could enable even faster settlement between our global accounts.
Open Banking
As more countries adopt open banking APIs, we'll have more direct connections and faster transfers.
Instant Everywhere
Our goal: Every transfer, to every destination, in under 30 seconds. Technology is making this possible.
Conclusion
Instant cross-border payments aren't magic—they're the result of direct API integrations, smart routing, pre-funded local accounts, and modern payment infrastructure. At Stratum Remit, we've built on these technologies to deliver money in seconds instead of days.
The future of payments is instant. And it's already here.