PCBB & FPS GOLD Link Up to Level Global Payment Field for Local Banks

WALNUT CREEK, Calif. – May 19, 2026 – In a strategic move to bolster the capabilities of local financial institutions, PCBB and FPS GOLD have announced a significant technology integration. The partnership embeds PCBB’s international wire services directly into FPS GOLD’s widely used EFT GOLD platform, granting community banks and credit unions a streamlined, powerful tool to manage cross-border payments.

This collaboration enables smaller institutions to offer faster, more secure, and transparent international payment services—capabilities once the primary domain of large, multinational banks. By integrating these services into existing back-office environments, the partnership aims to level the competitive playing field, allowing community institutions to better serve the growing global needs of their local customers.

Empowering Local Institutions in a Global Economy

Community banks and credit unions have long faced a difficult choice regarding international payments. The demand from small business clients and individual consumers for reliable cross-border transactions is surging, driven by global e-commerce, international supply chains, and a mobile workforce. However, the operational reality of providing these services has been fraught with challenges.

Building and maintaining an independent international payment infrastructure is prohibitively expensive and complex for most local institutions. This includes the high costs of SWIFT membership, navigating a labyrinth of international regulations, and managing the constant risk of currency fluctuations. This has often forced them to rely on cumbersome, multi-step processes that are slow and lack transparency, creating friction for both staff and end-users. This new integration directly tackles these pain points.

By embedding PCBB's correspondent banking expertise into the familiar EFT GOLD interface, financial institutions can manage the entire lifecycle of an international wire—from initiation and compliance checks to final processing—within a single system. This eliminates the need for staff to juggle multiple platforms, reduces manual data re-entry, and minimizes the potential for costly errors, significantly boosting operational efficiency.

The Technology Behind Seamless Cross-Border Payments

The strength of the PCBB–FPS GOLD integration lies in its use of modern payment technology to simplify a traditionally opaque process. A key feature is the solution's direct connection to the Swift Network and its utilization of Swift GPI (Global Payments Innovation), which fundamentally transforms the cross-border payment experience.

Swift GPI acts like a parcel tracking service for international money transfers. Each payment is assigned a Unique End-to-End Transaction Reference (UETR), allowing bank staff and, ultimately, their customers to see exactly where a payment is in the process in real-time. This visibility demystifies the journey of a wire transfer and provides certainty about when funds will arrive. According to Swift, nearly 100% of GPI payments are credited within 24 hours, with approximately 40% arriving in the recipient's account in under five minutes.

Furthermore, Swift GPI delivers unprecedented transparency into transaction fees and processing times. This helps businesses manage cash flow more effectively and eliminates the surprise deductions that can complicate reconciliation. The integration's 'straight-through processing' capability ensures that payment data remains intact from end to end, which not only speeds up the process but also enhances security and simplifies compliance with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations.

For staff at community banks using FPS GOLD's established EFT GOLD system, the transition is designed to be seamless. They can now access advanced international capabilities through familiar workflows, eliminating the need for extensive retraining and allowing them to focus on serving customer needs rather than navigating complex software.

Meeting a Tidal Wave of Global Payment Demand

This partnership arrives at a critical moment. The global cross-border payments market is experiencing explosive growth, projected to swell from approximately $212 billion in 2024 to over $320 billion by 2030. This surge is fueled by the relentless expansion of e-commerce, the rise of the gig economy, and increasing international migration that drives the global remittance market, which is itself projected to surpass $270 billion by 2034.

For the small and medium-sized businesses that form the backbone of local economies, the ability to transact globally is no longer a luxury but a necessity. This integration empowers community banks to be better partners to these businesses, offering them the tools to pay international suppliers, receive payments from overseas customers, and manage their global finances with efficiency and predictability.

“We are thrilled to partner with FPS GOLD to enhance the international payment capabilities available to community financial institutions,” said Sheila Noll, Chief Operating Officer of PCBB, in the announcement. “Together, we are delivering an integrated cross-border payments solution that simplifies international wires while providing the reliability, transparency, and support our mutual customers expect.”

The collaboration also positions these institutions for the future of payments, including the global migration to the ISO 20022 messaging standard. This new standard will allow for even richer, more structured data to be transmitted with payments, further improving automation, security, and the customer experience.

Jeff Bosgraaf, SVP of Sales & Vendor Management at FPS GOLD, commented on the strategic value for their clients. “Integrating PCBB’s international wire services into EFT GOLD allows our customers to offer robust global payment capabilities without disrupting their existing processes or retraining staff,” he stated. “This partnership expands the value of our platform and helps financial institutions meet growing demand for efficient, secure international transactions.”

By combining PCBB’s deep expertise in correspondent banking and international services with FPS GOLD’s six decades of experience in core processing solutions, the partnership delivers a powerful, single-source solution. It allows community institutions to confidently offer a 'global reach, local touch' service, strengthening client relationships and securing their competitive footing in an increasingly interconnected world.