G20 Report 2025: Scorecard Report on Direct Access and Price Transparency (Wise)

Summary

• Eight G20 members achieved the highest rating of 5/5 for direct access of non-bank payment service providers in 2025.p.10
• The United Kingdom became the only G20 nation to achieve a 5/5 score for price transparency in 2025 after upgrading two grades.p.11
• US consumers are projected to lose an estimated $19 billion in obscured FX markups in 2025, potentially rising to $46 billion by 2027.p.11
• Australian consumers are projected to lose nearly $4 billion in hidden fees in 2025 following a downgrade of Australia's transparency rating to 1/5.p.11
• As of August 2025, 18 out of 27 EU Member States have successfully transposed SFD amendments enabling NBPSP access into national law.p.15
• A May 2025 payment flow review in Italy showed UniCredit charging a 1.07% markup over the mid-market exchange rate.p.18

Key insights

1. The FSB acknowledged that the G20 is not currently on track to achieve its 2027 cross-border payment roadmap targets.p.2
2. The European Union upgraded its direct access rating from 4/5 to 5/5 following changes to its Settlement Finality Directive.p.10
3. Delays by the Eurosystem in adopting TARGET Guidelines have temporarily prevented eurozone central banks from granting direct payment system access to non-banks.p.10
4. The United States was downgraded from 4/5 to 3/5 in price transparency after the CFPB rescinded a circular warning against deceptive marketing practices.p.11
5. India improved its price transparency score from 1/5 to 3/5 due to a Reserve Bank of India notification requiring itemised fee and FX markup invoices.p.11
6. Research by Consumers International revealed that 57% of consumer bodies identify a lack of fee transparency as a major driver of consumer distrust in digital finance.p.9
7. Japan improved its price transparency score to 3/5 after the FSA clarified that international payments fall under customer-oriented conduct rules requiring full fee disclosures.p.11