Answer
Default to entity-level payments. Use POBO only when a central entity should appear as the payer on the rail — and only where legal capacity, tax, and the payment scheme allow it.
Why
Entity-level (central ops, subsidiary as paying party) covers more countries with fewer legal special cases. It is the right starting point for most payment factory builds.
POBO wins when:
- Low-volume entities make local wallets expensive
- An in-house bank funding model is already in place
- Your banks and counsel confirm the corridor
POBO loses when beneficiary banks or local schemes reject on-behalf payers, or when invoice/tax party rules require the subsidiary on the wire.
Funding note
POBO without cash pooling or cross-border cash pooling behind the payer only moves the shortfall to the center. For collections, see ROBO.