From Local Markets to Global Finance
How Foren and Zenus Bank are reducing cross-border financial friction and expanding access to regulated U.S. banking infrastructure.
For businesses and individuals operating internationally, moving money across borders can still be unnecessarily complex. Access to foreign currency accounts may be limited. International payments can pass through multiple intermediaries. Foreign exchange costs are not always clear upfront, and settlement times can be difficult to predict.
Foren, formerly Leatherback, was created to address these challenges. Built around the idea of providing a single access point to be truly global, Foren brings together financial, payment and commerce capabilities for businesses and individuals operating across borders.
Today, the company serves SMEs, enterprises and fintechs, alongside individuals and diaspora customers moving money internationally, with operations across markets including Nigeria, the UK and Canada.
To strengthen its USD capabilities, Foren partnered with Zenus Bank, connecting its platform to regulated U.S. banking infrastructure and extending USD account and payment capabilities to customers across international markets.
When Payment Friction Becomes a Barrier to Growth
Foren identifies three recurring challenges for customers operating across borders: access, cost and certainty.
In many underserved markets, businesses and individuals can struggle to access the foreign currency accounts they need. When they can transact internationally, the cost may not always be clear, while unpredictable settlement times can make planning difficult.
The impact goes beyond the transaction itself. A business that cannot pay an international supplier on time could lose an order. A student facing a tuition deadline needs confidence that funds will arrive when expected. A freelancer receiving payment from abroad may see the value of their earnings change while waiting for settlement.
Foren aims to reduce this friction by bringing accounts, foreign exchange and international transfers together within one platform. Customers can hold multiple currencies, convert funds with visibility over exchange rates and send payments across supported corridors, while fintechs and enterprises can integrate Foren's infrastructure through its API.
Extending USD Capabilities with Zenus Bank
Through its partnership with Zenus Bank, Foren connects its platform to regulated U.S. banking infrastructure, enabling it to extend USD account and payment capabilities through its own customer experience. This allows Foren to integrate USD banking into its single-access-point model, reducing the need for additional intermediaries and supporting customers in markets where compliant USD access can be difficult to obtain.
"Zenus provides the regulated U.S. banking backbone that lets Foren extend USD access to customers who previously had no direct route to it. The result is fewer handoffs for the customer and broader reach for us, particularly into emerging markets where compliant USD access is hardest to obtain."
For Foren, Zenus Bank's regulatory foundation is an important part of the relationship. It complements Foren's platform and international customer relationships with regulated U.S. banking capabilities.
What Financial Access Looks Like in Practice
The value of that infrastructure becomes clearer through the ways customers use it.
An SME in Lagos may need to pay a supplier in the UK. A student may need to send tuition to an institution in Canada. A freelancer may receive income from a client abroad. A fintech may need financial infrastructure to support thousands of its own customers.
Different needs, but the same underlying requirement: reliable access to financial services beyond their home market. For Foren's business customers, the impact is particularly visible in their ability to run international operations reliably, without the friction that previously held them back.
Sayhome Canada, a Foren business customer, describes its experience with Leatherback, now Foren:
"Leatherback has simplified the way we manage our business finances. The platform is reliable, secure, and easy to use, making international payments and financial operations seamless. Their customer support team is responsive and always ready to help. Leatherback has become an important partner in supporting our business growth."
The same focus on reliability is reflected by LKS Global, a Foren customer of several years, which highlights the platform's ease of use and responsive customer service as important parts of its experience.
Foren measures its impact through customers gaining access to regulated foreign-currency accounts, activity across emerging-market corridors, recurring platform usage and the number of end users reached through enterprise and fintech integrations.
Foren is also seeing customers move from one-off transfers towards recurring transactions, alongside growing adoption of its API by fintechs and enterprises. This shift reflects how access can become dependable financial infrastructure for businesses and individuals operating across borders.
Looking Ahead
Foren is continuing to expand into new and underserved markets, including Kenya, South Africa and parts of Latin America. In each new market, the company is focused on building the regulatory permissions and local foundations needed to provide dependable financial services over the long term.
The company plans to continue extending regulated currency access into additional corridors, increase the use of its platform for recurring business payments and expand its enterprise and fintech integrations.
"By partnering with Foren, we can meet customers where they already operate, extending access to U.S. banking services through a familiar cross-border platform and connecting them to the payment rails they need to transact seamlessly across borders."
Building Access That Lasts
The partnership also reflects Zenus Bank's commitment as a signatory to the UNEP Finance Initiative Principles for Responsible Banking. By working with platforms such as Foren, Zenus can help extend regulated financial infrastructure to businesses and individuals whose financial needs reach beyond their home markets.
From local markets to global finance, meaningful access is not simply about how many markets financial infrastructure can reach. It is about whether people and businesses can use that infrastructure reliably to participate in the global economy.
Get on the Network
Banks, fintechs, stablecoin issuers and multinational corporations run on Zenus.