The Exchange - May 2026

May's newsletter focuses on a new tech fix for one of the most broken workflows in international payments, preventing fraud targeting customers, and other community banking news

Inbound international wires have a reputation, and not a good one.

They arrive incomplete, inconsistently formatted, and often missing the context your operations team actually needs. What follows is a familiar process: manual review, internal back-and-forth, and time spent chasing details that should have been there from the start.

For community banks and credit unions, this isn’t just inefficient. It directly impacts scalability, client experience, and the ability to generate non-interest income from international payments.

This month, we’re introducing a better approach.

Acceleron + Banking Circle US: A New Standard for Inbound Wires

Acceleron has partnered with Banking Circle US to modernize how inbound international payments are received and processed.

By combining Acceleron’s automation platform with Banking Circle US’s infrastructure, financial institutions can now receive wires that are structured, validated, and ready for straight-through processing.

What this enables:

• Upstream validation to prevent incomplete or unusable payment data

• Structured payment messaging aligned with ISO 20022 standards

• Seamless system integration via API or file delivery

• Improved processing efficiency through local clearing capabilities

The result is a more reliable inbound payment flow that reduces operational friction and allows teams to focus on higher-value activities.

In addition, Banking Circle US joins the Acceleron FX marketplace as a real-time liquidity provider, helping banks access more competitive pricing and expand revenue opportunities tied to foreign exchange.

Read more about the partnership →

Product Update: Preparing for ISO 20022 Changes

As the November deadline approaches for ISO 20022 updates, including the removal of unstructured address fields, preparation is critical.

Acceleron continues to align its platform with these evolving requirements to ensure clients remain compliant without disruption. This month’s updates focus on adapting to structural messaging changes and improving data consistency across payment flows.  Technical Operations Specialist Fernanda Girelli has the details:

Fraudsters Are Targeting Customers. Are Your Controls Keeping Up?

Fraud in financial services has evolved into a coordinated, global operation. In our latest Transformers interview, LexAlign CEO Trevor Lain shares insights into how fraud networks are targeting banking customers and why liability increasingly falls on financial institutions.

Key takeaways include:

• How fraud tactics are becoming more sophisticated and organized

• Practical tools banks and credit unions can deploy today

• What new Nacha ACH monitoring rules mean for compliance

For institutions focused on risk management, this is essential reading. Read the full article →

Why a Single Correspondent Bank May Be Limiting Your Growth

Many community financial institutions rely on a single correspondent banking relationship for international payments. While this approach is common, it can create hidden constraints.

A multi-correspondent strategy can improve:

• Foreign exchange pricing through competitive execution

• Operational resilience by diversifying counterparties

• Non-interest income generation tied to cross-border activity

As demand for international services grows, flexibility becomes a competitive advantage. Read the full article →

Community Banking Trends to Watch

Recent developments are creating both opportunities and new pressures for community banks:

• The Community Bank Leverage Ratio (CBLR) has been reduced to 8%

• Section 1071 reporting exemptions ease compliance burdens for many institutions

• Cannabis banking discussions are gaining renewed traction

• Fintech firms continue to pursue bank charters

• Stablecoin legislation is progressing in the Senate

• New guidance highlights risks and considerations around agentic AI

Staying ahead of these changes will be key to maintaining competitiveness. Read the full update →

Banking Meme of the Month

An inbound wire arrives. The information is unclear, piecemeal, or missing entirely. So the search begins.

Operations teams dig through free text fields, attachments, prior messages, anything that might help form the full picture. It’s manual, repetitive, and all too familiar.

If that feels a little too real… you’re not alone. (We’ve captured the moment below)

If this rings a bell, you should know that there are alternatives. Acceleron’s technology changes this dynamic by delivering payment data that is complete, structured, and usable from the moment it arrives.

With expanded partnerships, including Banking Circle US and Monex USA, Acceleron continues to strengthen global coverage and improve processing across key corridors such as Mexico and Europe.

We're here to support you. Let us know what questions we can answer; just DM us with any requests. Enjoyed this edition of The Exchange? Subscribe to get the monthly update. And forward it to a banking buddy — sharing is caring. 😊

Acceleron builds patented software that allows community banks and credit unions to conduct international payment transactions profitably through a foreign exchange (FX) marketplace. Serving over 200 financial institutions and orchestrating more than $1 billion in international payments annually, Acceleron helps small banks generate non-interest income through automation and compete more effectively with high-fee big banks.

If you haven’t already, join the Acceleron community, we’d love to connect with you!

📲 Follow us Stay connected! Follow us on LinkedIn for timely updates, behind-the-scenes videos, and the latest insights hot off the press.

🔖 Bookmark Don’t miss out! Check out the Correspondent Connection magazine for the latest community banking news, in-depth profiles of community banking champions, and our 'Future of Community Banking' series.

💬 Chat with us Have questions about streamlining international wire processes? Let’s talk! Speak with one of our FX experts to discover how new technology can help boost your non-interest income. We’re just a click away: reach out here.

Warm regards, The Acceleron Team

Note: This newsletter is intended for general informational and educational purposes only and does not provide financial services advice. It should not be considered a substitute for professional guidance.