During the session, Neil joined a roundtable featuring Bernard Rwisumbura Nsengiyumva of the National Bank of Rwanda, Dr Francis Lwanga of Zambia Electronic Clearing House Limited, Owureku Asare of the Bank of Ghana, Mike Truter of Swift, and other distinguished guests, moderated by Luca Antonio Ricci of the International Monetary Fund. The panellists explored what will practically move remittances and cross-border flows forward in 2026–2027, including interoperability, corridor liquidity and FX constraints, and proportionate compliance.
One theme that resonated strongly is that policy is starting to catch up with market needs. A timely example is the new cross-border payment access initiative by the central banks of Kenya and Rwanda (announced 11 March 2026), which introduces mutual recognition and a "fast-track" pathway for licensed payment providers operating between the two countries. Neil noted that reducing duplicative licensing steps, aligning core compliance expectations, and improving supervisory coordination can shorten expansion timelines, lower administrative costs, and ultimately support more reliable and affordable cross-border payments.
"As we look to the next phase of growth, what matters is not only innovation in rails, but alignment in rules and execution," Neil said. "Interoperability, proportionate compliance, and corridor liquidity are levers that can make cross-border flows meaningfully faster, cheaper, and more transparent without compromising trust."
Drawing on XTransfer's experience supporting SMEs in global trade, Neil shared that a practical roadmap includes building on interoperable infrastructure, implementing robust and scalable compliance, and partnering with regulators and local ecosystems to strengthen transparency and unlock corridor liquidity. He added that this is a key reason XTransfer is building X-Net, the industry's first Unified Global B2B Trade Settlement Network and Risk Control Platform, to connect ecosystem partners and support safer, more standardised information flows for cross-border trade and payments.
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About XTransfer
XTransfer, world's leading B2B Cross-Border Trade Payment Platform, is dedicated to providing small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) with secure, compliant, fast, convenient and low-cost foreign trade payment and fund collection solutions, significantly reducing the cost of global expansion and enhancing global competitiveness. Founded in 2017, the company is headquartered in Shanghai and has branches in Hong Kong SAR, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, Australia, Singapore, Vietnam, Thailand, Malaysia, the Philippines, the UAE, and Nigeria. XTransfer has obtained local payment licenses in the Chinese Mainland, Hong Kong SAR, Singapore, the United Kingdom, the Netherlands, the United States, Canada, and Australia. To date, XTransfer serves over 800,000 enterprise clients worldwide.
By cooperating with well-known multinational banks and financial institutions, XTransfer has built a unified global multi-currency clearing network and a data-based, automated, internet-based and intelligent anti-money laundering risk control infrastructure centred on SMEs. XTransfer uses technology as a bridge to link large financial institutions and SMEs around the world, allowing SMEs to enjoy the same level of cross-border financial services as large multinational corporations.
XTransfer completed its Series D financing in September 2021 and achieved unicorn status. The company has a diverse composition of international investors, including D1 Capital Partners LP, Telstra Ventures, China Merchants Venture, eWTP Capital, Yunqi Capital, Gaorong Capital, 01VC, MindWorks and Lavender Hill Capital Partners.
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