By Elias Sfeir - President of the National Association of Credit Bureaus (ANBC)

Instant payments, once limited to the domestic environment, have advanced to the international cross-border arena, connecting people, companies and financial systems in real time. This transformation, however, requires more than technology, it requires trust. And this is where credit bureaus come into their own.

In panel held at the Payment Anyway Forum, I briefly discussed how credit bureaus can act as trust providers in an instant payments ecosystem cross-border. Interoperability between financial systems in different countries depends on robust identity verification (KYC) structures. know your customer), prevention of money laundering (AML - Anti-Money Laundering) and risk assessment. Bureaus are able to provide reliable data to validate identities, share credit histories between jurisdictions and apply artificial intelligence for real-time decisions, even in environments with little historical information.

Participating in global events, I have seen international cases that are examples of how this integration is possible, as long as the parties are aligned in the countries involved. Asia is at the forefront of several initiatives.

Singapore and Thailand connected their instant payment systems (PayNow and PromptPay), allowing real-time international transfers using only the phone number as an identifier.

This experiment was the first of its kind in the world, in 2021, and represented a milestone in the evolution of cross-border payments. The project required complex coordination between the central banks of the two countries, involving messaging standards, settlement mechanisms and regulatory compliance.

The experience of this initiative shows how it is possible to extend the convenience of domestic payments to the international environment, with reduced costs, greater speed and simplicity for the end user. In 2022 more than 65,000 monthly transactions and a reduction in settlement times from days to minutes.

Another example took place in March 2023, the credit bureaus of Cambodia (CBC) and Singapore (CBS) launched first cross-border credit data sharing initiative between the two countries. The proposal came about in response to the growing mobility of the global workforce and the need to guarantee legitimacy and security in the exchange of financial information. With the consumer's consent, financial institutions and employers can request credit reports to assess the granting of credit, especially in the case of professionals who have migrated between countries. The initiative was celebrated by central bank authorities and financial sector leaders such as a milestone for financial inclusion and building a more robust and reliable credit ecosystem, with the potential to expand to other ASEAN countries.

In addition to these, there are other cases in Asia such as the exchange of credit information between South Korea and the Philippines. With this system, the South Korea allows more than 70,000 Filipino residents to use their credit history in the country of origin to access local funding.

Note that South Korea and Cambodia are at the forefront, integrating with several other countries. In April 2025, banks and bureaus in these two countries, used artificial intelligence and machine learning to generate credit reports in real time, It also promotes financial inclusion and transparency, as well as improving the risk management of financial institutions. This bilateral initiative allows more than 50,000 Cambodians living in South Korea and 10,000 Koreans living in Cambodia have easier access to credit, based on their real financial histories. In 2024, Cambodia-Korea bilateral trade reached US$ 762 million, an increase of more than 11% compared to 2023.

The evolution is more than technological, it has a direct impact on people's lives. Although the gains are significant, it is necessary to invest in governance, training, interoperability and supervision, so that innovation is perennial, inclusive and brings trust.

Innovation must be faster than regulation and trust is the key to innovation's progress.

For this impact to be sustainable, it is essential to invest in digital infrastructure, financial education and trust mechanisms, for which compliance is fundamental. Credit bureaus play a strategic role in this process, acting as bridges between systems, countries and people.

And international instant payments, especially cross-border advances, are a concrete opportunity to make credit more accessible, fair and efficient, both inside and outside the traditional financial system.