Accelerating Cross-Border Payments in Asia Pacific

After eleven years of continuous revenue growth, the global payments industry saw a 5 percent decline in 2020, driven by the Covid-19 pandemic and subsequent economic slowdown. However, despite a substantial decline in international travel and significant global supply chain challenges, the cross-border space remained resilient, with McKinsey and Company projecting a 6 per cent growth in total cross-border payments revenue in the next five years.

Asia Pacific is primed for cross-border growth and the sector is filled with opportunities in 2022 whilst also facing intensified competition. Rapid infrastructure developments and emerging technologies coupled with the Covid-19 pandemic have accelerated digital adoption across the region. Industry-wide initiatives, most notably the migration to ISO 20022, aim to further improve the efficiency and security of cross-border payments, with many banks already adopting ISO 20022 across all their core payment infrastructures. ­­­­­

A global report “The Future of Competitive Advantage in Banking & Payments” identified ‘updating cross-border payments strategy’ as a top priority when it comes to payments over the next 12 months. New industry players, accelerated digital transformation and global initiatives are driving competition in the cross-border payments space, and your organisation’s cross-border strategy should indeed be a priority. Those not adapting their strategies will be rapidly left behind.