What are the G20 goals for cross-border payments?

In 2020, the G20 endorsed a roadmap developed by the Financial Stability Board (FSB) to enhance cross-border payments. The roadmap focuses on improving outcomes for end-users — consumers, businesses and financial institutions — across four key dimensions:

Speed

The G20 has set clear targets to increase the availability of funds in cross‑border payments, with differentiated goals across wholesale, retail and remittance use cases. By end‑2027, 75% of payments are expected to make funds available to the recipient within one hour of payment initiation, with the remainder credited within one business day.

Speed is a core pillar of the G20 roadmap because faster availability of funds supports smoother cash flow, reduces liquidity constraints and enables more efficient cross‑border economic activity for consumers, businesses and financial institutions.

The G20 target looks at end-to-end speed, not only how quickly a payment moves between banks. While progress has been made in accelerating the international leg of cross-border payments, the time taken to credit funds to the beneficiary — often called the ‘last mile’ — remains a key focus area.

Data from the Swift network show that 75% of cross-border payments reach beneficiary banks within ten minutes, with many arriving in seconds. However, local processes in the receiving country can extend the overall journey to hours or, in some cases, days. These timeframes are often influenced by regulatory reporting requirements, operating hours, foreign exchange (FX) controls and manual processing at the beneficiary institution.

Meeting the G20 speed target therefore depends on coordinated improvements across the full payment chain, with particular emphasis on the beneficiary stage, alongside faster messaging and settlement infrastructure.

Cost

For retail payments, the G20 aims for the global average cost to be no more than 1%, with no payment corridor exceeding 3%, by end‑2027.

For remittances, the target is for the global average cost of sending a USD 200 payment to be no more than 3% by 2030, with no corridors above 5%.

Cost is a central pillar of the G20 roadmap because predictable, affordable pricing supports access, financial inclusion and the wider use of formal electronic payment channels, while also helping improve transparency and competition across the cross‑border payments ecosystem.

The G20 roadmap addresses these cost drivers by focusing on the frictions that sit behind them. These include payment failures caused by incorrect or incomplete data, manual repair processes, limited straight-through processing and fragmented routing across different systems. Each adds operational effort, which is reflected in pricing.

For retail payments and remittances, lower costs play a key role in supporting financial inclusion and keeping cross-border payments accessible and affordable. Reduced costs can also encourage greater use of regulated electronic payment channels, improving transparency and consumer protection.

Cost reduction is therefore closely linked to improvements in data quality, automation and interoperability across the cross-border payments ecosystem.

Transparency

The G20 has set minimum transparency expectations for all payment service providers involved in cross‑border payments. By end‑2027, providers should ensure that payers and payees have clear and upfront access to key information throughout the payment journey.

At a minimum, this includes total transaction costs, all applicable fees and charges, including those applied by intermediaries, as well as FX rates and currency conversion costs. Users should also receive information on expected delivery times, payment tracking and status updates, and the terms of service governing the transaction.

Greater transparency benefits everyone involved. End-users gain confidence and predictability, while financial institutions can reduce enquiries, investigations and disputes linked to missing information or unexpected delays. Improved tracking also helps identify where frictions occur, supporting continuous improvement across the industry.

Transparency is therefore both a customer experience objective and an enabler of operational efficiency and accountability across the cross-border payments chain.

Access

The G20 has set clear access objectives to ensure that cross‑border payments are available across all corridors and use cases, reflecting the needs of wholesale markets, retail users and remittance recipients.

For wholesale payments, the goal is for all financial institutions, including remittance service providers, to have at least one option (and where appropriate, multiple options) for sending and receiving cross‑border payments in every corridor by end‑2027.

For retail payments, all end‑users (individuals, businesses and banks) should have at least one electronic payment option available through one infrastructure or provider for sending or receiving cross‑border payments by end‑2027.

For remittances, the target is for more than 90% of individuals, including those without bank accounts, to have access to a cross‑border electronic remittance option by end‑2027.

Access is a key pillar of the G20 roadmap, supporting inclusion, resilience and choice across the global cross‑border payments ecosystem, particularly in lower‑volume or emerging corridors.

Why the G20 goals matter?

Despite ongoing progress, cross-border payments remain more complex and less predictable than domestic payments. Differences in regulation, data standards, operating hours and local market practices can affect how payments move across borders, particularly in the final stage of the journey, often referred to as the ‘last mile’.

Improving cross-border payments is not only about speed. It also helps deliver:

• Better end-customer experiences

• More efficient use of liquidity and capital

• Stronger global economic connectivity

How much progress has been made?

Significant progress has been achieved across the industry. This includes:

• Today, the majority of payments sent over the Swift network reach the beneficiary bank within minutes.

• At a market level, progress is also evident, with around 80% of markets reporting faster cross-border payment speeds compared to two years ago.

• Transparency has improved through end-to-end tracking and richer payment data.

• Tracking capabilities have advanced significantly, with approximately 74% of payments now tracked end to end across the Swift network.

• Industry-wide initiatives such as ISO 20022 are laying the foundation for automation and fewer errors.

However, beneficiary-side crediting remains a key focus area. Local regulatory requirements, FX controls, operating hours and manual processes still account for a large share of end-to-end payment delays.

The final domestic stage of the payment journey – often referred to as the ‘last mile’ – can account for around 80% of total processing time, highlighting where the greatest frictions now sit.

Meeting the G20 goals requires more than new technology. Evidence shows that the greatest gains will come from:

• Clearer and more automated regulatory reporting

• Better alignment of standards and data quality

• More consistent operating practices across markets

• Greater focus on beneficiary-side processing

These changes depend on coordinated action across the ecosystem — from policy-makers and market infrastructures to financial institutions and technology providers.

The role of Swift in supporting the G20 goals

Swift strongly supports the G20 and Financial Stability Board (FSB) roadmap and works with the global financial community to help turn policy objectives into practical, scalable outcomes. This includes:

• Enabling faster and more predictable cross-border payments over existing rails

• Improving transparency through tracking and confirmations

• Supporting richer, standardised data through ISO 20022

• Collaborating with financial institutions, market infrastructures and authorities to address last‑mile frictions

Swift’s role is to provide trusted infrastructure, standards and collaboration. This helps the industry progress towards the G20 targets while respecting local regulatory frameworks.