Citi and Dandelion, a Euronet Worldwide, Inc. (NASDAQ: EEFT) company, announced a collaboration to enhance cross-border payments, powered by the integration of Citi’s cross-border payments solution WorldLink Payment Services and Dandelion’s digital wallet network.
The collaboration empowers Citi’s institutional clients ”to deliver near-instant, full-value payments into digital wallets across the globe, with near 24/7 availability.”
The capability will initially extend ”to the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh and Colombia, with plans for further expansion.”
Paying into wallets not only enables Citi to ”enhance its offering to its financial institution clients, especially in the remittances space, but the solution also enables Citi’s corporate clients to make faster and cost-effective business-to-consumer (B2C) payments.”
For corporate and public sector clients, this solution ”addresses a growing need for B2C payments into wallets.”
This includes everything from employee payouts, “like payroll and expense reimbursements, to social benefits, customer refunds, compensation payments, and seamless transfers to freelance and gig-economy workers.”
The effort capitalizes on Citi’s payments network, which “processes over 11 million instant payments daily and drove close to $380 billion in cross-border transaction volumes in 2024.”
Emanuela Saccarola, Head of Cross Border Payments, Services, said,
”Our collaboration with Dandelion underscores Citi’s commitment to delivering innovative and comprehensive payment solutions that meet the evolving needs of our global clients. By integrating Dandelion’s robust digital wallet network with Citi’s global payment infrastructure, we are enabling our clients to reach into markets with new payment methods. This will help unlock speed, cost efficiency and transparency and reinforce our position as a leader in providing always on, 24/7 real-time payments.”
The endeavor expands Citi’s WorldLink Payments Services, ”enabling clients to make cross-border payments in over 135 currencies through various methods, including traditional wires, ACH, and cross-border instant payments via Citi’s proprietary network.”
Additionally, clients can make payments ”into digital wallets and via debit cards, facilitated by Citi’s collaborations with multiple digital wallet providers and card networks globally, significantly expanding Citi’s reach.”
Overall, Citi’s WorldLink solution enables clients ”to send full-value, near-instant payments to over 150 digital destinations, including bank accounts, mobile wallets, and debit cards.”
In addition, Citi has other instant payment services ”like Citi Token Services and 24/7 USD Clearing, which offer real-time, always-on services for its institutional clients.”
As noted in the update, Dandelion is a key player in electronic payments and financial services reaching over 63 countries via digital wallets.”
Dandelion’s network and strong footprint will “help extend Citi’s reach globally, enabling Citi clients to directly access beneficiaries in the Philippines, Indonesia, Bangladesh, and Colombia who primarily rely on digital wallets for financial transactions.”
By integrating Dandelion’s network with Citi’s cross-border capabilities, businesses gain “a more streamlined and secure pathway to disburse funds directly into mobile wallets across digital economies.”