Since its launch in 2019, neobank startup OPAL has been growing steadily in Singapore’s financial hub.
OPAL is licensed as a Major Payment Institution (MPI) by the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS) and provides domestic and cross-border payments, settlement accounts and e-money services.
In February 2022, OPAL launched its flagship product, the Global Digital Business Account, which aims to provide small and medium-sized businesses with an efficient and convenient way to process international payments and cross-border banking.
B2B embedded cross-border solution provider Currency Cloud It played a key role by providing the APIs required for a seamless and user-friendly experience.
OPAL aims to revolutionize cross-border payments for small and medium-sized businesses
opal
In developing its Global Digital Business Account service, OPAL wanted to enable SMEs to enjoy the convenience of a single account to smoothly and seamlessly collect cross-border payments and transactions.
But going it alone comes with several challenges, including significant investments to establish relationships with banks in the US, Europe and Asia-Pacific, all of which will put a strain on the human and capital resources of a young startup.
According to OPAL co-founder and CEO Zvi Appel, among the various paytech companies the company evaluated, Currencycloud stood out for its focus on fostering innovation and collaboration, which aligns with OPAL’s mission to revolutionize the financial landscape for small and medium-sized businesses.
Zvi Apel
“OPAL and Currencycloud both prioritize leveraging innovative technology to transform the financial landscape and set new standards for SMEs. Unlike traditional banks, OPAL differentiates itself by offering transparent pricing, which gives customers a clear understanding of the costs associated with their transactions.”
Additionally, Currencycloud’s platform is flexible and scalable, and seamlessly integrates with ours for a smooth and efficient user experience. Overall, we now have more access, transparency and efficiency.”
Appel explained.
Currencycloud APIs power OPAL’s innovation
OPAL’s choice of Currencycloud’s API-driven payments solution enables it to rapidly innovate and introduce new features.
Once fully integrated, OPAL will be able to add Currencycloud’s technology to various aspects of its services, including payment instructions, FX conversion and access to real-time exchange rates for seamless cross-border transactions.
The implementation was planned to introduce new services in stages, and the early experience has been smooth.
Currencycloud provided end-to-end dedicated support to seamlessly integrate Currencycloud’s comprehensive suite of APIs into the OPAL platform to launch initial services such as account creation and collections.
These are already live, and new features such as payments and foreign currency exchange are currently in development.
Rohit Narang
“During the first few months, Currencycloud worked closely with the OPAL team to ensure key project timelines were met.
This enabled OPAL to gradually release features on the platform according to a timeline, ensuring maximum customer satisfaction.”
Rohit Narang, Managing Director, APAC, Currencycloud said:
With the introduction of Currencycloud, OPAL has successfully launched its first set of global digital business account services, including the key feature that enables SME customers to name their OPAL accounts in the same way as they would their bank accounts, reducing the friction of cross-border payments across both SWIFT and local rail.
“We chose Currencycloud over competing international payment platforms because of their extensive presence in different markets, cutting-edge technology, transparent pricing, and excellent customer support.”
Zvi Appel, co-founder and CEO of OPAL, said:
Transforming cross-border payments through fintech collaboration
By leveraging Currencycloud’s advanced capabilities, OPAL’s Global Digital Business Account clients will be able to manage their cross-border transactions efficiently and cost-effectively as they navigate global financial markets.
Through designated accounts for international payments, OPAL’s SME clients will be able to benefit from global connectivity and presence, transferring funds to local payment networks in 21 countries and regions.
Opened in clients’ own names, these multi-currency accounts provide greater access to raising funds around the world.
Clients can receive funds in up to 33 different currencies via SWIFT and local payment systems. In addition, these accounts offer significant cost savings, reducing transaction costs by up to 40% and increasing transaction speeds.
Appel sees the partnership between OPAL and Currencycloud as a successful example of fintech collaboration, believing that such synergies will help fuel increased competition in the financial sector and drive continuous innovation and service improvements.
For OPAL, that means local businesses benefit from access to affordable, easy-to-use and efficient financial tools that can streamline their operations and support their growth.
“As we continue to grow and expand our services, we believe our partnership with Currencycloud will be fundamental to our success and empower small and medium-sized businesses to drive positive change in the financial industry.
We believe that collaboration between fintechs like OPAL and Currencycloud will help businesses take a technology leap forward and quickly benefit from B2B banking and payment solutions, helping fill gaps in traditional banking services.”
Appel said.
Find out how Currencycloud can help you build your payments infrastructure. I spoke with one of their experts today..
