We live in a globalized world, where expanding overseas is considered the new normal for ambitious companies. Indeed, since 2010, North American businesses' mergers with and acquisitions of European organizations have totaled 3,979 transactions, worth a sum of US$506 billion, according to Dealogic.

For multi-billion-dollar institutions, growth by international merger or acquisition is a relatively simple process. Many of the Fortune 500 have at their disposal shared service centers for an assortment of financial activities, so the operational integration of a new market into the existing payments management structure is relatively straightforward. However, cross-border payment issues often create challenges for midsize companies.

Despite the introduction of the Single European Payments Area (SEPA), North American mid-cap organizations taking advantage of growth opportunities in Eastern, Central, or Western Europe face complex and diverse payment considerations. Stumbling blocks in creating a trans-Atlantic footprint can arise from the environment's alien regulations, multiple tax jurisdictions, conflicting capital management rules, and varying degrees of political stability within and outside of the Eurozone—not to mention the more obvious challenges of varying time zones, languages, and currency risks.