For global businesses the complexity of payables and receivables increases as they frequently send and receive funds across multiple jurisdictions. While automating the flow of funds cross-borders can make a huge impact on business-wide efficiency it can also expose the company as a whole and its assets to new cybersecurity threats. Additionally, businesses must ensure that their automated systems comply with financial regulations to avoid legal penalties.

The vulnerabilities we see most often in automated payment systems are weak authentication protocols or data encryption - with the payment information exposed, cybercriminals are more likely to manipulate the data, intercept or divert the payment. This can lead to devastating financial losses impacting both short and long term financial stability as well as reputational damage of the business as both clients and vendors will be weary of making their financial information exposed.

To mitigate cybersecurity risks in cross-border payments, financial leaders should implement and continuously reassess their cybersecurity measures. This includes: advanced encryption, multi-factor authentication, and real-time transaction monitoring. It is also important to foster a culture of cybersecurity awareness among accounting and AP teams and encourage them to collaborate with IT and information security departments as it will further protect the company against significant threat of cross-border payment fraud.