Layover: A Cross-Border Payment Cost Comparison ToolThe Why
When a business moves money across borders, the transaction fee is usually the first cost considered. A payment route may appear cheaper because it charges a lower fee, while another may appear more expensive because its fee is more visible. The problem is that the fee is only one part of the cost.
The exchange rate used for the transaction can create a much larger cost through the FX margin. The length of time it takes for a payment to settle can also have a financial impact when large amounts of money remain in transit. Prefunding requirements, on and off-ramp costs, and the cost of capital tied up during the process can further change the economics of a payment route.
This makes it difficult to compare payment rails based only on their advertised fees. A treasury team may know exactly what a provider charges for a transfer while still not having a clear view of what that transfer actually costs the business. Layover was built to make that comparison easier.
What It Is
Layover is a cross-border payment cost comparison and treasury analysis tool that allows users to model a payment and compare the economics of different payment rails.
The user provides the details of the payment, including the amount, frequency, market FX rate, quoted FX rate, transaction fees, settlement time, on and off-ramp costs, prefunding requirements, and cost of capital. Layover then calculates the different components of the payment cost and brings them together into a single view.
The analysis separates the visible cost of the transaction from costs that are easier to overlook. This includes the difference between the market FX rate and the rate offered by a payment route, the value of cash tied up while a payment settles, and the capital required to maintain liquidity before a payment can be completed.
The result is a route-by-route comparison that shows not only which option costs less, but why it costs less.
Who It's For
Layover is designed for treasury, finance, and operations teams that regularly evaluate how money moves across borders.
For a treasury team, the tool can be used to compare existing payment routes with alternative rails, test different payment scenarios, and understand how settlement time or prefunding requirements affect the total cost of moving money.
It can also be useful when evaluating stablecoin settlement alongside traditional payment routes. Rather than assuming that one rail is always cheaper, the tool allows the actual numbers for a business to be entered and compared under the same assumptions.
This makes the analysis particularly relevant for businesses that process large or recurring international payments, where small differences in FX rates, settlement times, and liquidity requirements can become significant over time.
The Thinking Behind It
The central idea behind Layover is that the cost of a payment is larger than the fee attached to the transaction.
Consider a $260,000 payment made four times a month. A traditional route may charge a $1,300 transaction fee, which appears relatively straightforward. However, if the quoted FX rate is sufficiently different from the market rate, the FX margin can create a much larger cost.
In one scenario tested in Layover, the FX margin contributed $4,940 to the cost of the transaction, compared with the $1,300 transaction fee. Once settlement time, capital tied up in transit, and other costs were incorporated, the total economics of the route looked very different from what the headline transaction fee suggested.
This distinction is important because payment decisions are often made using the information that is easiest to see. Layover is designed to make the less visible costs part of the comparison.
The tool also avoids treating any payment rail as inherently cheaper. The economics depend on the actual payment amount, frequency, exchange rates, fees, settlement times, and liquidity assumptions entered by the user.
Prefunding is a good example. The cash a route needs held in advance depends on how long a business must cover payments before it can top up. Layover therefore asks for prefunding in days of payments and converts it into an amount, labelled clearly as a scenario assumption rather than a benchmark.
What It Produces
Layover provides a side-by-side comparison of payment routes and breaks the total cost into its underlying components.
For each route, users can see the transaction fee, FX margin, on and off-ramp costs, settlement time, cash tied up in transit, prefunding requirements, cost of capital, and total cost per transfer.
The tool then extends the analysis beyond a single transaction by calculating the annual cost based on the expected payment frequency.
This makes it possible to see the difference between a route that appears slightly more expensive on a single transfer and one that becomes substantially more expensive when used repeatedly throughout the year.
The outputs can be downloaded as a presentation deck, making it possible to take the analysis beyond the simulator and use the results in treasury or finance discussions.
How Layover Works
The workflow begins with the payment scenario. The user enters the amount being transferred, how frequently the payment occurs, and the relevant market and quoted FX rates. The different payment routes are then configured using their respective fees, settlement times, on and off-ramp costs, and liquidity requirements. The cost of capital can also be incorporated to account for the financial impact of cash being held or tied up during the payment process.
Layover calculates each component and combines them into the total economic cost of the route. Users can then compare the routes, identify the largest contributors to cost, and test how changes in the underlying assumptions affect the result. The same scenario can therefore be viewed from both the transaction level and the annual level, which is particularly important for businesses making recurring cross-border payments.
Layover and FitMap
Layover was developed alongside FitMap as part of a broader exploration of cross-border payment infrastructure.
FitMap focuses on identifying companies that may have a cross-border infrastructure need and mapping those companies to the products that could address that need.
Layover looks at what happens after that opportunity has been identified: what does it actually cost to move the money, and how do different payment rails compare?
The two tools therefore approach the problem from different directions. FitMap provides the opportunity and product-fit analysis, while Layover provides the payment economics.
Layover can also stand independently as a treasury tool, as the comparison does not depend on a FitMap assessment. A treasury team can simply enter its own payment scenario and use the tool to evaluate the economics of different rails.
Technology Stack
Layover was built as an interactive Streamlit application using Python, Pandas, and Altair for the analysis and visualisation. The application uses python-pptx to generate downloadable presentation decks, built from the same figures shown on screen.
The interface is intentionally focused on the economics of the payment rather than the technology behind it. The objective is to make a relatively complex cost calculation understandable enough for a user to change the assumptions, compare the routes, and immediately see how the economics respond.
What This Project Represents
Layover demonstrates how a financial analysis can be turned into an interactive tool that allows users to test real payment scenarios rather than relying on generic comparisons between payment rails.
The important part of the analysis is not simply identifying the cheapest transaction fee. It is understanding the full cost of moving money, including the costs created by FX pricing, settlement time, liquidity, and capital requirements.
That becomes particularly important when payments are large or recurring. A difference that appears relatively small on one transaction can become significant when the same payment is repeated throughout the year.
Layover brings those costs together so that payment routes can be evaluated on their total economics rather than a single visible fee.
Layover is live on Streamlit: layover.streamlit.app
FitMap is live on Streamlit: fitmap.streamlit.app
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