On Thursday 12 March 2026 global payment and banking leaders, industry stakeholders and policy makers congregated in London for the Financial Stability Board (FSB) Payments Summit. 

In opening his keynote speech on Reforming Cross Border Payments, Bank of England Governor and FSB Chair Andrew Bailey laid bare the current state of affairs. 

“For as long as I can remember – and I have been here at the Bank over 40 years – it has been said that cross-border payments are slow, expensive and inefficient. While this is not universally true – some cross-border payments are very efficient – there can be no doubt that, overall, cross-border payments are slow and expensive, especially when compared to increasingly effective domestic payments.” 

He then suggested some key areas of focus including innovation and infrastructure development that ensures "the benefits of digital technology are incorporated into payment systems", and reducing "regulatory compliance costs but without diluting standards". 

With the marker laid down delegates discussed how to accelerate progress towards the G20 targets for cross-border payments.

Launched in October 2020, the G20 Roadmap set out the following ambitious vision: 

“Faster, cheaper, more transparent and more inclusive cross-border payment services, including remittances, while maintaining their safety and security, would have widespread benefits for citizens and economies worldwide, supporting economic growth, international trade, global development and financial inclusion.” 

Progress is certainly being made. Swift reported that 75% of payments via its systems now reach recipient banks within 10 minutes, with many arriving even faster. They are currently developing a shared blockchain-based ledger to support 24/7 real-time cross-border payments. 

But while greater speed and convenience can transform the payments experience for consumers and businesses, it was acknowledged that new technologies and faster payment capabilities must have appropriate protections in place before they are introduced. These safeguards will protect users and help maintain confidence in the system.

With buy-in from all stakeholders there should be no reason why the G20s Roadmap vision cannot be achieved.

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