Wise Connect San Francisco: Partnerships play a key role in SME global expansion

With $118 billion lost annually on failed cross-border payments, it’s clear that something needs to change. And that’s precisely why we brought together over 150 payments innovators from across North America for our annual Wise Connect San Francisco event. 

Over the course of just one afternoon, we explored why nearly half of American small-mid sized enterprises see cross-border payments as a hindrance to global expansion, and how we can alleviate these pressures through fast, low-cost and reliable payments. 

Our stage featured a strong lineup of speakers, including Mohit Kumar, General Manager of Payments & Trust at Upwork, Samant Nagpal, Head of Payments and Risk at Gusto and Prashant Gandhi, Chief Business Officer at Melio, who shared their insights on enabling SME growth through all-in-one payment services. We even heard from Zach Abrams, CEO of Bridge, who shared his expert take on the future of stablecoin.

The conversations made one thing abundantly clear: while global payments can be complex, success hinges on five key areas: transparency, reducing friction, global expansion, direct access, and partnerships.

Cross-border payments holding American SMEs back

According to Melio’s Chief Business Officer, Prashant Gandhi, many small businesses across America run on limited working capital. But that’s not actually serving as a hurdle to international expansion. 

“Going global is no longer reserved for massive corporations. The ability for all businesses, regardless of size, to go international, has unlocked tremendous new opportunities. However, it also means that small business owners now face an entirely new set of challenges.”

“Operating globally requires you to function locally in each market you enter. This creates a complex maze of regulations, payment schemes, and customer expectations that can quickly overwhelm small business owners who just want to focus on what they do best.” 

This sentiment from America's fastest-growing bill pay and invoicing solution resonated throughout the room, particularly as other speakers shared similar observations about the evolving expectations of modern businesses.

Building trust through transparency

Your customers expect end-to-end visibility. They want to know when their money will arrive, the total cost of what they’re paying, and precisely how much will reach the recipient. Speed and convenience mean nothing if customers don't trust the experience — especially when it comes to surprise fees.

As Brigit Carroll, our Head of Policy for the Americas shared, “Transparency takes the guess work out of making global payments and ensures your international payee gets paid on time – all the time. According to Swift, 70% of customers would break up with their bank if they were hit with hidden fees.” This emphasizes the powerful link between transparency and customer loyalty.

Businesses want to offer their customers greater visibility, but how can they gain greater transparency themselves? The solution lies in limiting intermediary-heavy processes, and finding the right partner that has direct connections into local payments systems.

“Our partners saw 20-25% growth when they adopted transparency," she shared. She also noted that a transparent end-to-end payments experience drives customer satisfaction and reduces operational costs. Transparency, along with the trust it builds, serve as a key differentiator for customers navigating a cross-border payments sector awash with hidden fees and uncertainty.  

Reducing friction 

But transparency is just the beginning. Building trust extends far beyond visibility to include offering your customers a seamless payment experience. 

Matt Parish, our Head of Correspondent Banking Products, explored the impact of friction: "Incorrect recipient details are the biggest reason for failed payments and low straight-through processing – 64% of payments in fact.”

He warned that friction comes at a high cost, noting, “66% of users wouldn't use your services again if a payment fails, stopping failed payments is a business imperative."

To prevent this, he stressed the importance of automated compliance checks and robust payee verification. By building a smooth, trustworthy process, you not only keep customers but also encourage them to use other services in your product ecosystem.

Global expansion made simple

Beyond creating frictionless payment experiences, there's a greater strategic narrative that speakers and attendees addressed: making global expansion more accessible.

As a payments provider, you have a unique responsibility to empower your customers to launch in new markets and pay locally. All without the costs, complexities, and regulatory nuances of traditional cross-border payments. What’s more, offering this level of convenience has become a competitive advantage. However, the key is to operate globally while functioning locally in each market.

"There is no global strategy without going local," said Diana Avila, our Chief Banking and Expansion Officer. "We understand each local payment system, the regulatory requirements, and how payment messaging is structured, so we can make instant payments happen."

Direct access is crucial

So, what's our secret to this local-first approach? Direct access.

By plugging into fast local payments schemes, we avoid intermediary-heavy processes, enabling greater transparency, speed and control while reducing costs. 

CTO and President for the US, Harsh Sinha, explained it best: “At Wise, we’ve made our business out of stitching local payments schemes together. That’s because we know that the more intermediary-heavy the transaction, the more likely it is that the transaction will go wrong.” It’s this direct access that forms the backbone to delivering the instant experiences customers now expect, while maintaining the transparency and control that builds lasting trust.

However, accessing these direct connections requires significant technical expertise and regulatory compliance. It’s also time consuming and costly. Which is precisely why partnerships are trumping complex infrastructure builds. 

Partnership is changing the game

Many banks and online platforms simply don't have the global network to deliver fast, transparent global payments. That's because payments infrastructure is often built to serve domestic use cases. But that's changing, and partnerships are rapidly changing the game. 

We saw a perfect example of this when Upwork's Mohit Kumar took the stage to announce their partnership with Wise Platform. “It's a combination of global and local reach, network infrastructure and licenses. Easy to use APIs and a positive culture made Wise stand out as a partner to add to our ecosystem,” he said.

The impact has been clear: “Now, 80% of global payments via Wise platform are instant, and 88% are delivered within 24 hours,” he revealed. Stories like Upwork’s demonstrate how the right partnerships can accelerate innovation and turn global payments into a powerful differentiator.

But the discussion doesn’t end here

As engaging as our afternoon in San Francisco was, the conversations we started are just the beginning. We hear it time and time again. Businesses, platforms, and banks want to deliver the kinds of payments experiences that their customers love. They want them to be instant, transparent, and accessible, offering fair pricing and visibility. 

Missed us in San Francisco? Join us at our Singapore and London events: www.wiseconnect.io