Nium and OZ Câmbio’s relationship is transforming cross-border payments for Brazilian SMEs, connecting them to worldwide markets efficiently and affordably.
The real-time payments business Nium and OZ Câmbio (OZ) announced a partnership on the first day of the EVOLVE conference in So Paulo, Brazil, the event examining how the payments industry is expanding, growing, and developing. It aims to assist Brazilian companies in moving capital to important foreign markets including China, Hong Kong, and the UK.
The cooperation was formed to address the Brazilian SME market’s needs. The Brazilian government reports 21 million SMEs, however they have been “underserved by large banks.” Additionally, 14.5 million are sole proprietorships. Nium is now on OZ Câmbio’s white-label platform for SMEs.
OZ chose Nium as a partner since it reaches 190+ countries. Hong Kong, China, the US, and the UK are featured. OZ’s CEO Rodrigo Xavier says Nium’s cutting-edge technology, real-time payments, and “considerably lower transaction costs compared to older global payment rails like SWIFT” make it the perfect partner.
Over 20 years have passed since OZ first entered the Brazilian foreign exchange market. It has since developed a global B2B trade platform with FXasS (foreign exchange as a service) functionality and the ability to handle large payments and settlements. When these services are combined with Nium’s, issues with automated compliance, transparency, and transaction costs are all addressed.
“With our combined forces, Nium and OZ are disrupting global money-exchange rails for the better,” claimed Christina Hutchinson, vice president of business development for Nium’s LatAm area. She formerly worked for SWIFT in Brazil for ten years as the regional director and in-country manager. “We not only provide transformational levels of transparency, traceability, and automated compliance, but we also accelerate the rate of transfers from two to three business days to just two hours or less.”
Growth in cross-border payments is important
According to the most recent data from the Central Bank of Brazil, between 2018 and 2022, the number of legal organizations with a bank account increased by almost 35%, from 11.4 million to 17.5 million, marking the highest increase on record since 2005. The number of people with bank accounts increased by 18.9% percent during the same time period, which is nearly twice as fast as that growth rate.
Recently, OZ debuted its SME Cross Border Platform, which handles cross-border business transactions for SMEs. It’s an FX solution for businesses with sizable international payrolls, developers and IT specialists that work for overseas contractors, and import/export activities. It can settle transactions made using the widely used Pix, TED, credit/debit cards, or boleto in Brazil.
The platform is a white-label product that may be made available to various business partners, including fintech companies, financial institutions, and autonomous investment agents (AIA). Through this agreement, the geographic reach of this product will be increased.
Accelerating transactional times
Volker Steinle, SVP and general manager, Americas location for Nium, stated that “Nium and OZ will serve SME customers desperately in need of payment solutions that are fast, safe, affordable, and compliant for each region.” “Nium offers a lot more than just payments. We are a reliable partner. In Latin America, Nium is trusted by a growing number of our clients and partners to help them expand their cross-border payments business.
According to OZ CEO Rodrigo Xavier, “Through our new partnership, Nium provides our customers with a new payments rail that significantly reduces the time, complexity, and expense of conducting international business.” Brazilian importers conducting business with exporters from Asian giants like China and Hong Kong—one of our more significant economic areas today—will now be able to conduct business practically instantaneously and considerably more affordably.
“For instance, our combined customers will spend as little as 30% of the price of a global SWIFT transaction. Instead of taking days, the payoff beneficiaries will get it right away.
