G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross Border Payments: Scorecard Report on Direct Access and Price Transparency (Wise)

Summary

• The G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments (2020 - 2027) focuses on 5 main priority focus areas divided into 19 building blocks.p.3
• The Financial Stability Board reported that remittance services providing total fee breakdowns increased from 98% to 99% since 2023.p.6
• Seven G20 nations, including Brazil, China, Indonesia, Mexico, Republic of Korea, Türkiye, and the United Kingdom, received a 5/5 scorecard rating for direct access.p.7
• In South Africa, the average cost of remitting funds reached 13.18% in Q1 2024.p.35
• Following the extension of RTGS accounts in July 2017, the UK's Faster Payments System expanded to 29 banks and 16 NBPSPs by October 2024.p.38
• In 2017, hidden exchange rate markups charged by money transfer providers cost French consumers €110 million euro.p.45

Key insights

1. Direct access and price transparency are critical priorities to unlock lower costs and faster speeds for cross-border payments.p.2
2. Building Block 2 addresses transparency of information provided to end users, while Building Block 10 focuses on direct access to payment systems.p.3
3. The United States is the only G7 economy not advancing direct payment system access for non-bank payment service providers.p.7
4. The general trend across the G20 shows significantly less progress made toward price transparency compared to direct access for non-bank entities.p.8
5. Bank Indonesia's BI-FAST scheme reduced transaction fees from IDR 6,500 under the previous switching system down to a maximum of IDR 2,500 per transaction.p.24
6. In March 2024, the US Consumer Financial Protection Bureau clarified that advertising zero-fee transfers while marking up exchange rates may constitute a deceptive practice.p.41