CPMI conference 2021 | Bank for International Settlements | 18 March 2021 | Virtual Event

Over the past few decades, domestic payment systems have undergone a radical transformation. New payment methods and interfaces have taken shape, and many more innovations are under way. The Covid-19 pandemic has further accelerated the shift to digital payments. Yet cross-border payments are still in many cases very slow, expensive, opaque, and for many users not easily accessible.

Improvements in cross-border payments would make a real difference to many of the poorest and most vulnerable who disproportionately bear the cost of the frictions and shortcomings of the current systems. These are not new issues, but the improvements that have been made in domestic payment systems, and new approaches aiming to leverage radically different technologies, have pushed cross-border payments up the political agenda. As a result, the G20 finance ministers and central bank governors, a year ago, tasked the Financial Stability Board (FSB) together with the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI) and other international bodies to develop a roadmap to improve cross-border payments.