BNY Mellon transforms cross-border payments between Egypt and China

By Leandra Monteiro

BNY Mellon announced it has successfully facilitated the fully transparent payment transaction between Egypt and China.

“We’re thrilled to introduce cost-effective solutions for a better payment experience,” said Isabel Schmidt, Co-Head of Global Payments Products at BNY Mellon. “Thanks to this collaboration, our clients in the region will see a wide range of benefits, including faster speeds, more predictable fees, and greater security.”

Previously, low-value international payments experienced limited cost transparency and uncertainty over settlement timelines. Leveraging the new SWIFT Go service, BNY Mellon acted as an intermediary for a payment between QNB Al Ahli Egypt, the remitting bank, and Shanghai Pudong Development Bank, the beneficiary bank. Delivery of funds to the beneficiary and confirmation to the originating bank were achieved in less than three hours. A cross-border transaction between Egypt and China had previously taken over two days.

Businesses and consumers around the world have faced challenges when making smaller international payments, which include limited transparency over costs and uncertainty over when the funds will be delivered. In July 2021, BNY Mellon announced it was the first US bank to support SWIFT Go, a new service that allows financial institutions to facilitate efficient and reliable cross-border payments between consumers or small- and medium-sized companies.

“QNB AlAhli is pleased to be the first bank in Egypt to participate in this innovative initiative to introduce a better cross-border payment experience for our clients,” said Mohamed Bedeir, CEO of QNB AlAhli. “With this successful collaboration, we are not only facilitating and enhancing the payment industry, but also supporting financial inclusion.”

The payment from Egypt to China is the latest milestone in BNY Mellon’s commitment to streamline and transform global payments. In May 2021, BNY Mellon launched the real-time electronic bill (e-bill) and payment solution. BNY Mellon was also the first bank to provide Request for Payment (RFP) messaging capabilities.