The Federal Reserve Banks of the US and Equens, a payment processor in the Netherlands, have signed a memorandum of understanding on the processing of payments from the US to Europe and vice versa.
The Federal Reserve Banks and Equens said that, starting in early 2010, both parties will offer banks a cost-efficient channel for processing cross-border payments in multiple currencies, including the US dollar and euro. They added that the strategic partnership between them is based on an increasing market demand for efficient processing of low-value cross-border payments on a global level.
It is reported that the partnership with the Federal Reserve Banks will enable Equens to further expand its cross-border payments processing business.
Elizabeth McQuerry, assistant vice president of the Federal Reserve Banks’s retail payments office, said: When talking with clients, we saw a clear demand for expanded payment services to and from Europe. Together with payment processor Equens, we can offer our clients an excellent, secure and cost-efficient solution.
Michael Steinbach, chairman of Equens’s board of directors, added: The partnership with the Federal Reserve Banks is an important step for Equens and fits well with our vision on a global payments area. We are constantly looking for economies of scale, thereby creating opportunities for our clients — the banks — to further reduce their processing costs. By offering a standardised channel for cross-border payments processing, our clients do not have to worry about the complexity of maintaining different cross-border systems.
