Cross-border payments have run on the same model for decades: a chain of correspondent banks, each taking a fee, each adding a delay. Claire Barratt, Managing Director UAE at BCB Group and an MFTA Corporate Member, breaks down why that model is being displaced and what is replacing it.
In this episode of Wall Street to MENA on Fintech TV, Claire explains:
- How correspondent banking actually works, and why a single cross-border payment can pass through four banks before it settles
- Why stablecoins remove those intermediary steps, and what that means for cost and settlement speed
- Why the UAE and Southeast Asia are seeing the strongest stablecoin adoption, and the regulatory clarity driving it
- How BCB Group operates as an infrastructure layer for corporates and institutions, not a retail bank, across almost 20 tier one banking partners and 36 currencies
- Why BCB is pursuing UAE licensing on top of its existing licenses in the UK, France, and Switzerland
- Whether correspondent banking disappears entirely, or whether banks and infrastructure players like BCB end up operating in parallel
Claire Barratt spent a decade at Wells Fargo before moving to Revolut and then BCB Group, a path that shapes how she sees the shift from legacy banking to fintech infrastructure.
Wall Street to MENA is produced in partnership with Fintech TV, featuring conversations with the institutions and leaders shaping regulation, payments, and digital assets across the MENA region.