In the quest for a faster and more traceable way to transfer money internationally, banks were gravitating a few years ago to Ripple, a platform backed by Silicon Valley luminaries and global financial institutions.

Now it¡¯s gotten complicated. New options are surfacing that, like Ripple, use the hot technology called blockchain to send and record transactions across borders. For banks, the challenge is to agree on a standard quickly to fend off rivals like TransferWise Inc. and Cambridge Global Payments, which are grabbing a share of the $30 trillion a year in international transactions between businesses.

¡°If they don¡¯t run the network, banks are not going to get transaction revenue,¡± said Alenka Grealish, a manager at Boston Consulting Group who focuses on global transaction banking. Banks make money on each overseas transaction and on foreign exchange.