Cross-Border Payments Statistics
Last updated: 2026-10-28 · 13 sourced statistics
International payments are still slower and dearer than domestic ones, and the official data shows how far they are from the G20's 2027 goals. The World Bank put the global average cost of sending a $200 remittance at 6.36% in Q3 2025. The Financial Stability Board's 2025 progress report puts the average cost of a small-business (B2B) cross-border payment at 1.6%, against a target of 1%, and found that fewer than 45% of B2B and B2P payments were settled within one business day. If you invoice clients abroad, those numbers are the gap between the amount you bill and the amount that lands, and the wait before it does. Every figure below links to the official report it comes from.
Key takeaways
- Sending a $200 remittance cost 6.36% on average in Q3 2025, about double the UN target of 3% by 2030 (World Bank).
- Small-business (B2B) cross-border payments averaged 1.6% in 2025, and FX costs made up 87.1% of that cost (FSB, data from FXC Intelligence).
- Fewer than 45% of B2B and B2P cross-border payments were settled within one business day in 2025 (FSB).
- 54.6% of large wholesale payments over Swift were credited within one hour in 2025, against a 75% target for end-2027 (FSB, Swift data).
- Only 62.9% of retail payment services that disclose their cost also disclosed speed in 2025 (FSB).
At a glance.
Every figure on this page in one table, each linked to its named source. Scroll down for the full context behind each number.
| Figure | What it measures | Source | Year |
|---|---|---|---|
| 6.36% | Globally, sending a $200 remittance cost an average of 6.36% of the amount sent in Q3 2025, the World Bank's figure for tracking progress on remittance prices across 367 country corridors. | World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide (Q3 2025 data) | 2025 |
| 3.3% | The average of the three cheapest qualifying services per corridor (the World Bank 'SmaRT' average, meant to reflect an informed sender) was 3.3% for a $200 remittance in 2025, and the global average cost of a $500 remittance was 4.3%. | Financial Stability Board, G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments: Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 16, World Bank RPW Q1 2025) | 2025 |
| 1% | The G20 targets for end-2027 are a global average cost of no more than 1% for retail cross-border payments (B2B, B2P, P2B and other P2P), with no corridor above 3%, and 75% of payments reaching the recipient within one hour. For $200 remittances, the target is no more than 3% by 2030, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal. | Financial Stability Board, G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments: First consolidated progress report (Table 1, targets) | 2021 |
| 1.6% | The average cost of a cross-border payment from one business to another (B2B, micro, small and medium enterprises) was 1.6% in 2025, unchanged from 2024. Business-to-person (B2P) payments averaged 1.8% and person-to-business (P2B) payments 1.9%. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 7, FXC Intelligence data as of March 2025) | 2025 |
| 87.1% | Foreign exchange costs made up 87.1% of the average total cost of a B2B cross-border payment in 2025 (an average FX cost of 1.4% against a 0.2% fee). | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 8, FXC Intelligence data as of March 2025) | 2025 |
| 2.6% | Person-to-person cross-border payments that are not remittances were the most expensive retail use case, averaging 2.6% in 2025, roughly stable since 2023. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 7) | 2025 |
| 18.3% | 18.3% of retail payment corridors still had average costs above 3% in 2025, down from 24.1% in 2024. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 7) | 2025 |
| <45% | Fewer than 45% of B2B and B2P cross-border payments were settled within one business day in 2025, while more than two thirds of P2P payments were. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (section 3, retail speed) | 2025 |
| 35.4% | 35.4% of retail cross-border payment services credited recipients within one hour in 2025, and 67.3% within one business day, down from 74% in 2023. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 11, FXC Intelligence data) | 2025 |
| 54.6% | 54.6% of wholesale cross-border payments (USD 100,000 or more) sent over Swift were credited within one hour of initiation in 2025, and 93.2% within one business day. The end-2027 target is 75% within one hour. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Annex Table 1, Swift data) | 2025 |
| 62.9% | Of the retail payment services that were transparent about cost, 62.9% also disclosed payment speed in 2025, up 7.3 percentage points from 2024. | Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 14) | 2025 |
| $685B | Officially recorded remittances to low- and middle-income countries were expected to reach $685 billion in 2024, with growth estimated at 5.8%, larger than foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined. | World Bank, People Move blog (Ratha, Plaza and Kim), December 2024 | 2024 |
| -22% | The number of active correspondent banks worldwide fell by about 22% between 2011 and 2019, while the volume and value of cross-border payments kept growing, which suggests payment flows became more concentrated. | Bank for International Settlements, CPMI, New correspondent banking data: the decline continues at a slower pace | 2020 |
The statistics
Globally, sending a $200 remittance cost an average of 6.36% of the amount sent in Q3 2025, the World Bank's figure for tracking progress on remittance prices across 367 country corridors.
Source:World Bank, Remittance Prices Worldwide (Q3 2025 data)2025
The average of the three cheapest qualifying services per corridor (the World Bank 'SmaRT' average, meant to reflect an informed sender) was 3.3% for a $200 remittance in 2025, and the global average cost of a $500 remittance was 4.3%.
The G20 targets for end-2027 are a global average cost of no more than 1% for retail cross-border payments (B2B, B2P, P2B and other P2P), with no corridor above 3%, and 75% of payments reaching the recipient within one hour. For $200 remittances, the target is no more than 3% by 2030, in line with the UN Sustainable Development Goal.
The average cost of a cross-border payment from one business to another (B2B, micro, small and medium enterprises) was 1.6% in 2025, unchanged from 2024. Business-to-person (B2P) payments averaged 1.8% and person-to-business (P2B) payments 1.9%.
Foreign exchange costs made up 87.1% of the average total cost of a B2B cross-border payment in 2025 (an average FX cost of 1.4% against a 0.2% fee).
Person-to-person cross-border payments that are not remittances were the most expensive retail use case, averaging 2.6% in 2025, roughly stable since 2023.
Source:Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 7)2025
18.3% of retail payment corridors still had average costs above 3% in 2025, down from 24.1% in 2024.
Source:Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 7)2025
Fewer than 45% of B2B and B2P cross-border payments were settled within one business day in 2025, while more than two thirds of P2P payments were.
Source:Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (section 3, retail speed)2025
35.4% of retail cross-border payment services credited recipients within one hour in 2025, and 67.3% within one business day, down from 74% in 2023.
Source:Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 11, FXC Intelligence data)2025
54.6% of wholesale cross-border payments (USD 100,000 or more) sent over Swift were credited within one hour of initiation in 2025, and 93.2% within one business day. The end-2027 target is 75% within one hour.
Source:Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Annex Table 1, Swift data)2025
Of the retail payment services that were transparent about cost, 62.9% also disclosed payment speed in 2025, up 7.3 percentage points from 2024.
Source:Financial Stability Board, Consolidated progress report for 2025 (Table 14)2025
Officially recorded remittances to low- and middle-income countries were expected to reach $685 billion in 2024, with growth estimated at 5.8%, larger than foreign direct investment and official development assistance combined.
Source:World Bank, People Move blog (Ratha, Plaza and Kim), December 20242024
The number of active correspondent banks worldwide fell by about 22% between 2011 and 2019, while the volume and value of cross-border payments kept growing, which suggests payment flows became more concentrated.
When these numbers don't apply
Aggregate statistics hide a lot. Read these caveats before quoting a figure as if it describes your specific situation.
- Remittance cost figures cover small consumer transfers of $200 or $500 in the corridors the World Bank surveys. They are not a price list for business invoice payments.
- The FSB's B2B, B2P, P2B and P2P cost and speed figures come from FXC Intelligence, a private data provider, based on published prices of a sample of payment services as of March 2025. Negotiated rates for larger businesses can be lower, and FX margins can be hard to see.
- Wholesale speed figures come from Swift and cover payments of USD 100,000 or more sent over its network. They measure when the beneficiary's bank account is credited, not every retail or card-based route.
- The FSB notes that some year-on-year changes, including the retail one-hour speed figure, were driven partly by changes in which payment services were sampled.
- World Bank remittance totals count officially recorded flows only. The World Bank says the true size, including informal channels, is believed to be larger, and the 2024 figure was published as an estimate.
- The correspondent banking decline measures the number of active correspondent banks seen in Swift messaging between 2011 and 2019. It is not a count of all banking relationships and has not been updated in this series since then.
How we compiled this data
Reviewed on 2026-10-28. We kept only figures we could open in the original official publication on that date: the Financial Stability Board's Consolidated progress report for 2025 (9 October 2025), which compiles key performance indicators from Swift, FXC Intelligence and the World Bank; the FSB's 2021 report that set out the G20 targets; the World Bank's Remittance Prices Worldwide site (read via an Internet Archive capture from August 2026, because the live site blocks automated access); a World Bank blog on 2024 remittance flows; and the BIS CPMI correspondent banking review. We removed earlier figures that linked only to homepages or could not be matched to a current source, including a Swift gpi speed claim and a 2023 remittance total. The FSB had not published a 2026 progress report when we checked, so the 2025 figures are the latest official set.
We hand-collected each figure from its original publisher rather than recycling secondary round-ups, cross-checked the headline numbers against the source documents in 2026-10-28, and link every statistic to the report it came from so you can verify it yourself. Where a publisher issues annual updates, we cite the report edition and flag the year inline.
Frequently asked questions
How much does it cost to send an international payment?
It depends on who is paying whom. The FSB's 2025 figures put the average cost at 1.6% for a small-business B2B payment, 1.8% for B2P and 1.9% for P2B. Consumer remittances cost more: the World Bank's global average for sending $200 was 6.36% in Q3 2025.
Why does a foreign client's payment arrive short of the invoice amount?
Mostly currency conversion. In the FSB's 2025 data, FX costs made up 87.1% of the average cost of a B2B cross-border payment. Agreeing the invoice currency and who pays transfer charges before you invoice makes the shortfall predictable.
How long do cross-border business payments take?
Slower than most people expect. The FSB found that fewer than 45% of B2B and B2P cross-border payments settled within one business day in 2025. Large wholesale payments over Swift are faster: 54.6% were credited within one hour.
What are the G20 targets for cross-border payments?
By end-2027: a global average cost of no more than 1% for retail payments with no corridor above 3%, and 75% of payments available to the recipient within one hour. For $200 remittances, the target is no more than 3% by 2030.
Are cross-border payments getting cheaper?
Only slowly. The FSB described average costs as sticky in 2025: the B2B average stayed at 1.6%, though the share of corridors costing more than 3% fell from 24.1% to 18.3%.
Put these figures to use
- Payments hub: Payment terms, payment links, reminders and late fees for getting invoices paid, with worked examples.
- International invoicing guide: Choosing an invoice currency, recording exchange rates, VAT reverse charge and payment instructions for clients abroad.
- Exchange rates on invoices: Which exchange rate and date to use and how to show the conversion, with UK and EU VAT rules.
- Hedging currency risk: Measuring exposure on foreign-currency invoices and the options: home-currency pricing, buffers, matching costs or forwards.
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