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Unlocking global payment success: Why customer experience is more important than ever

Wise

30.09.25

Read time 1 minute

Did you know that 79% of consumers now expect instant cross-border payments?

But even in 2025, delivering fast, transparent, and cost-effective cross-border payments remains surprisingly difficult. In fact, most cross-border payments still take 3-5 business days to process.

That’s because organisations still rely on infrastructure built exclusively for domestic use cases: mortgages, loans, and local transactions.

Meanwhile, domestic payments have evolved rapidly. Local faster payment systems like PIX in Brazil and UPI in India have transformed consumer expectations entirely. These systems deliver instant payment experiences that let customers pay for everything from groceries to property – all with a simple tap.

So why should cross-border payments be any different?

The answer is they shouldn't be, but connecting the dots remains complex

Organisations face challenges around interoperability, the cost and complexity of integrating with local payment systems, and navigating varied regulatory requirements. No wonder many view global payments as a headache.

However, this is changing fast. A new generation of payment infrastructure providers is emerging, plugging directly into faster local payment systems and building products with a single focus: delivering fast, low-cost, and convenient cross-border payments.

Why the $12 trillion opportunity isn’t all that’s at stake

But why should banks invest in upgrading their global payments capabilities now? That’s a good question and one that’s nuanced.

Low-value transactions – those under $100,000, typically made by consumers and SMEs – now account for nearly $12 trillion in annual global payment outflows. Clearly, this is a significant commercial opportunity for banks.

But here’s what banks should also consider: these payments are the key to protecting customer lifetime value.

This is even more important when you consider Swift's recent report, finding that 75% of customers consider alternative providers with more competitive offerings.

When customers turn to alternative providers for cross-border payments, they don't stop there. They begin exploring options outside your ecosystem for mortgages, loans, and other core banking products. So there’s a lot more at stake than immediate revenue.

The good news? It doesn’t have to be this way

Leading banks are changing the narrative and protecting their cross-border payments revenue and customer lifetime value.

By partnering with global payments specialists, banks can deliver the kinds of experiences their customers demand.

What’s more, they’re seeing promising results: organisations that have invested in their cross-border payments infrastructure have already seen double-digit growth, while those that haven’t are witnessing single-digit growth.

Want to know how? Discover how banks like Brazil’s Nubank, Mox by Standard Chartered, and Indonesia's Bank Mandiri are leveraging resilient global payments infrastructure, scalable compliance, real-time treasury management, and operational automation to deliver exceptional customer experiences. All without the cost and complexity of building their own networks.

So they can focus on what truly matters: keeping customers happy within their product ecosystem.

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