Access to U.S. Banking.
How Strategic CX helped a global payments company establish direct U.S. banking relationships, cutting costs, building redundancy, and unlocking USD infrastructure.
The Client
A fast-growing European payments company serving merchants across 30+ countries. With annual transaction volume exceeding $4.2 billion, they were processing U.S. dollar payments through a fintech intermediary, adding unnecessary cost layers and creating single points of failure in their payment infrastructure.
The Challenge
As a non-U.S. company, accessing the American banking system presented significant hurdles. The client faced three critical challenges that were limiting their growth and increasing operational risk:
Margin Compression
Routing USD wire transactions through a fintech intermediary meant paying inflated per-transaction fees. The client was paying $20 per wire, costs that went straight to the intermediary's bottom line. With 3,500 wires per month across domestic and international payments, this added up to over $840K per year in unnecessary fees.
No U.S. Market Access
As a non-U.S. company, the client had no U.S. banking relationships whatsoever. They had no path to open U.S. accounts, hold USD balances, or participate in domestic payment rails, effectively locking them out of the world's largest economy.
Intermediary Dependency & Risk
Without a direct bank relationship, the client was fully dependent on fintech intermediaries to access U.S. dollar infrastructure. This introduced counterparty risk, limited their control over their own funds, and made them vulnerable to any policy or operational changes at the intermediary level.
The Solution
Strategic CX leveraged our network of U.S. banking partners to establish direct relationships that addressed all three challenges. Our approach focused on finding financial institutions that understood international payments and were comfortable with the client's business model.
Direct Banking Relationship
We introduced the client to two U.S. financial institutions with experience in cross-border payments and international fintech relationships. By going direct, they eliminated the intermediary markup and established a real partnership with their banking providers.
Banking Redundancy
Rather than replacing one single point of failure with another, we helped establish relationships with multiple financial institutions. The client now has primary and backup banking partners, ensuring continuity even if one relationship is disrupted.
USD Infrastructure Access
With direct U.S. banking relationships, the client gained access to domestic ACH, Fedwire, and SWIFT USD clearing. They can now hold USD balances, optimize FX timing, and offer faster settlement to their U.S. merchant base.
The Results
Cost reduction per wire transaction by going direct to bank and eliminating the intermediary markup
Based on ~3,500 domestic and international wires per month at $20 savings per transaction
Primary and backup direct relationships, eliminating dependency on any single intermediary
Full access to ACH, Fedwire, and SWIFT USD clearing infrastructure for the first time
Need Direct U.S. Banking Access?
Whether you're looking to reduce costs, build redundancy, or access USD infrastructure for the first time, Strategic CX can connect you with the right U.S. banking partners.
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