For more than ten years, cross-border payments have focused on reducing the friction, cost, and time required to move money internationally. Payment speeds have increased, end-user costs have declined, and transparency has improved. McKinsey’s Global Payments data estimates a recent volume of $190 trillion and a global revenue pool exceeding $290 billion, with revenues expected to grow about 4 percent annually.
Security, speed, and cost are increasingly becoming table stakes as traditional payment rails modernize and globally connected, licensed providers proliferate. New settlement networks are also emerging, which could erode infrastructure-based competitive advantages. Payments are increasingly integrated into accounting, procurement, and treasury workflows rather than remaining within providers’ standalone systems.
Fintech specialists have increased their share of consumer, remittance, small-business, and SME payment volumes by competing on price, speed, and margin transparency. This pressure could push the wider industry into commoditization , creating an unsustainable and unprofitable baseline. Providers that execute efficiently while repositioning within the value chain will be better placed to capture emerging sources of value.