The Financial Stability Board, Wise and industry experts all share similar dissatisfaction with the G20’s progress.
The Financial Stability Board (FSB) has said key milestones in its 2027 roadmap for improving cross-border payments are unlikely to be achieved on time.
Former FSB Chair Klaas Knot has acknowledged global efforts to improve cross-border payments are falling behind schedule.
“It is unlikely that satisfactory improvements at the global level will be achieved in line with the 2027 Roadmap timetable,” Knot wrote in his valedictory letter. He noted the latest key performance indicators (KPIs) for 2025 show only a slight improvement globally since they were first calculated in 2023.
His remarks come as the FSB published its annual progress report on the G20 Roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments on October 9. On the same day, Wise released its own report evaluating country-level progress on two of the roadmap’s main goals, echoing the FSB’s view that more needs to be done.
The G20 roadmap, launched in 2020, aims to tackle issues with cross-border payments. These include high costs, long transaction times, lack of transparency and limited access to payment systems for non-bank providers.
Progress made, but not enough for end-users
The FSB has acknowledged some technical and policy progress has been made. These include efforts to harmonise data standards through the ISO 20022 initiative, recommendations aimed at bringing greater regulatory alignment for both banks and non-bank payment service providers and updated FATF standards.
However, David Patrick, Head of Payments Strategy at RedCompass Labs, agreed with the FSB’s assessment that these developments have not yet delivered meaningful benefits to businesses and consumers.
“Cross-border payment costs remain stubbornly high, mainly due to the hidden costs of information security, compliance, and the complexity of operating across multiple regulatory regimes,” he said.
“Each jurisdiction imposes its own rules on data protection, anti-money laundering, and capital movement, often with limited interoperability, which adds friction instead of efficiency. National regulators play an essential role in maintaining trust and stability, but their mandates are domestic, making global coordination difficult.”
He explained that “greater regulatory alignment, not simply more regulation, is required if we are to reduce costs and improve efficiency”.
Wise assesses progress
Wise’s new report takes a closer look at two of the roadmap’s key goals of improving price transparency and increasing direct access to payment systems for non-banks. Each G20 country has been rated on a scale of one to five for both of these goals.
In 2024, India received a score of one for price transparency, which improved to three in 2025. However, its score for direct access remains stuck at three. Saudi Arabia, which has attracted a lot of fintech interest in recent years, received a score of one for direct access and two for price transparency, unchanged from the previous year.
This lack of improvement is common across most G20 countries, with only a handful showing real progress.
Ulrich Bindseil, former Director General for Market Infrastructures and Payments at the European Central Bank and former Chair of the CPMI PIE Taskforce, said Wise’s report added much-needed clarity to the broader effort.
“That progress is possible and is illustrated by the positive developments that this report allowed to identify: eight G20 members have the highest score for direct access of NBPSPs, with the EU joining this club over the last year, with others soon to follow,” said Bindseil.
Wise’s report also warned that without faster action, consumers and businesses will continue to lose significant sums to hidden foreign exchange costs. The company estimates that $274bn could be lost to unclear pricing in 2025 alone.
Diana Avila Gonzalez, Chief Banking and Expansion Officer at Wise, said the lack of transparent pricing and limited access for non-banks is preventing meaningful competition and keeping costs high.
“Consumers and businesses are set to lose more than $274bn to hidden FX fees in 2025 alone. That’s money that should stay in their pockets – not vanish into the shadows of unclear pricing,” she said.
“At the same time, in too many G20 countries, non-banks are locked out of payment systems, blocking the competition needed to bring costs down. Governments and regulators must act now: open up direct access, enforce transparency, and deliver on the commitments they made to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and fairer.”
