Executive Voices“The era of transactional, volume-based relationships is over” – Asmaa Eissa

For years, a correspondent banking relationship was measured in volume: how much flow moved through it, and how large the balance sheet behind it was. Asmaa Eissa believes that era is over. As regulation tightens and clients expect cross-border payments to be instant and transparent, she argues the relationships that endure will be built on co-creation, agile technology, and compliance that is never compromised, with correspondents treated as strategic allies rather than service providers.

In this Executive Voice conversation with Digital Trade Outlook, Asmaa Eissa, Head of Financial Institutions & Correspondent Banking at Attijariwafa Bank Egypt, shares her perspective on what will separate winning correspondent banking partnerships over the next five years, where the biggest bottlenecks in cross-border payments remain, and the single biggest strategic bet the bank is making.

Digital Trade Outlook — As regulations, payment infrastructure, and client expectations evolve, what separates winning correspondent banking partnerships from those that struggle to adapt over the next five years?

Asmaa Eissa, Head of Financial Institutions & Correspondent Banking, Attijariwafa Bank Egypt: Over the next five years, winning correspondent banking partnerships will be defined by co-creation, agile technology, and uncompromised compliance integration. The era of transactional, volume-based relationships is over. Winners are those who integrate API-driven real-time transparency and instant cross-border capabilities while maintaining robust, proactive AML/CFT frameworks. At Attijariwafa Bank, we view our correspondents not merely as service providers, but as strategic allies in driving regional economic integration.

The industry has made real progress on speed and transparency, but significant gaps remain. Where do you see the biggest bottlenecks, and what does your institution do to navigate them?

While cross-border speed has improved, the biggest bottlenecks remain in legacy compliance silos, fragmented local payment market infrastructures (PMIs), and the lack of standardized data formatting (like Swift ISO 20022) across smaller regional markets. Attijariwafa Bank navigates these hurdles by investing heavily in data enrichment and harmonizing our internal systems to support full ISO compliance. Furthermore, our unmatched pan-African footprint allows us to bridge these infrastructural gaps internally, offering a seamless and unified compliance ecosystem that simplifies intra-African and global corridors.

Digital platforms and real-time data are transforming how banks identify, price, and manage FI risk. What’s the competitive advantage for institutions that master this integration? And what are the common missteps you’re seeing?

The competitive advantage belongs to institutions that leverage real-time data to transition from static, annual credit and compliance reviews to dynamic, continuous risk monitoring. This mastery optimizes capital allocation and liquidity management instantly. The common misstep we observe is treating digital transformation as a pure cost-cutting tool or relying on automated algorithms without incorporating local geopolitical context. Technology must empower human expertise, not replace the nuanced understanding of regional market dynamics.

Attijariwafa Bank has built a strong foundation in Egypt’s domestic banking sector. As you expand the correspondent banking network globally, how are you translating that regional strength into trusted partnerships with international FI peers? Where do you see the most significant growth opportunity in the next 3–5 years?

As part of one of the largest banking groups in Africa, Attijariwafa Bank Egypt acts as a vital financial gateway. We translate our domestic leadership into trusted international partnerships by offering global peers a de-risked, highly transparent, and regulatory-compliant access point to Egypt and the wider African continent. Over the next 3–5 years, our most significant growth opportunity lies in capitalizing on regional trade agreements like the AfCFTA and boosting trade flows across the Egypt–Morocco–Middle East–Africa corridors, leveraging our group’s extensive network to facilitate structured trade finance and correspondent flows.

Enhanced due diligence and sanctions screening are essential, but they increase costs and slow transactions. How do you strike that balance at scale? Are some client segments worth walking away from?

Compliance is not a cost center; it is a core competitive differentiator and the foundation of trust. We strike the balance between rigorous EDD and scalability through automated screening workflows, AI-driven transaction monitoring, and regular proactive communication with our correspondents. Regarding whether some segments are worth walking away from: absolutely. A sustainable banking model requires clear risk boundaries. We do not hesitate to exit relationships or segments where transparency is compromised or where the risk profile falls outside our strict risk appetite, protecting both our institution and our global network.

“Compliance is not a cost center; it is a core competitive differentiator and the foundation of trust.”

Over the next five years, what is the single biggest strategic bet you’re making in correspondent banking? What change in the market or regulatory environment do you believe will determine whether that bet pays off?

Our single biggest strategic bet is on becoming the premier, digitally integrated transactional hub linking North Africa and Egypt to Sub-Saharan Africa and global markets. The catalyst that will determine the success of this bet is the speed of regulatory harmonization and the interoperability of regional cross-border payment platforms (such as BUNA and PAPSS). Institutions that seamlessly adapt to these regulated regional platforms, while embedding superior digital execution, will capture the future of global correspondent banking.