Permanent white water
The macro tailwind is real and unwelcome. The International Council for Small Business 2025 Annual Global MSME Report coined the phrase "permanent white water" to describe the nonstop turbulence small and mid-sized firms now face from tariff swings, geopolitical fragmentation, supply-chain reroutes and rapid digital transformation.
Clara Shi, CEO of WorldFirst and Vice President of Ant International, believes the only way to scale is to follow the customers. "When they do the diversification, that means we need to go together with them. We need to get ourselves ahead of our customers," Shi said.
The Lego-like modular architecture
The product Shi keeps coming back to is the Global Account, a single onboarding that gives a merchant access to more than 40 local-currency accounts across major jurisdictions. Underneath the account, Ant International has spent five years building an in-house real-time payment system that connects to more than 20 institutions and can move 25 currencies instantly.
"It’s like a Lego," she said of the modular API stack. "The modules, APIs, you need acquiring. OK, just to get the acquiring APIs. If you need accounts, just to get the accounts API. If you need AI effects, you need us to provide the AI projection for your FX exposure or the dynamic pricing tools, then you just get the effects. So it's like a Lego game. Get whatever you need."
AI as the compounding edge
Ant International began applying AI to its own operations long before it became common. The firm uses AI for customer service improvements, risk engines, and credit engines. A key innovation is the "Falcon Time-Series Transformer," which helps forecast FX exposure to assist airlines in locking in accurate rates.
The same logic now powers Antom Copilot, which is integrated into Ant's enterprise solutions to help SMEs navigate liquidity management and compliance as they expand globally.
Where the bet sits
Juniper Research has projected that B2B cross-border payment volumes will exceed $111 trillion globally by 2027. Ant International's wager is that the next leg of growth flows through small businesses that have previously been underserved by traditional banking. By providing a modular, scalable infrastructure, Ant aims to capture this massive, fragmented market.