跨境支付技术：创新与挑战（英）

Cross-border paymenttechnologies: innovations andchallenges by Stijn Claessens and Tara Rice Monetary and Economic Department March 2026 JEL classification: E41, E42, E51, E52, E58, G21, G28 Keywords: payments systems, cross-border, technology,harmonization, standards, digital innovation, wholesale,retail, remittances The views expressed in this publication are those of the authors and do notnecessarily reflect the views of the BIS or its member central banks. This publication is available on the BIS website (www.bis.org). ©Bank for International Settlements 2026. All rights reserved. Brief excerpts may bereproduced or translated provided the source is stated. Cross-border payment technologies: innovationsand challenges Stijn Claessens and Tara Rice1 Abstract Cross-border payments (XBP), particularly remittances and retail transactions, remainmore costly, slower, less accessible, and less transparent than domestic payments.The continued inefficient XBP arrangements, in contrast to progress made in domesticpayments using new technologies and innovative models, reflect that private actorsalonecannot overcome the many market failures that hinder XBP.The mostbinding constraintconcerns the limited interoperability which relates to themulti-sidedmarket frictions in XBP and the institutional differences betweencountries.These,ultimately,only proactive and collaborative public sectorefforts canovercome.Key priorities are therefore greater harmonization ofstandards, especiallyfor message transmission,moreeffectivecomplianceregimes, and promotion of competition. Keywords: payments systems, cross-border, technology, harmonization,standards, digital innovation, wholesale, retail, remittances JEL classification:E41, E42, E51, E52, E58, G21, G28 1.Introduction "The difficulty of international trade lies not in the exchange of goods but inthe exchange of currencies."John Maynard Keynes (1944) - Bretton WoodsConference. Cross-border payments (XBP) have been an important part of the developmentof financial systems and countries for centuries (e.g., Bindseil & Pantelopoulos,2022). Historically,banks’key roles have often been facilitating cross-bordertransactions. Italian, Dutch and other banks as early as the 16th century financedtrade, helped issue and place sovereign notes abroad, and transferred funds acrossborders. Major financialcenters like London emerged in part because oftheirrole in XBP(Kindleberger, 1974). This role continues, with daily trading inforeignexchange(FX)in April 2025 estimated at$9.6 trillion(BIS,2026[forthcoming]), making it the financial market with the world’s largest turnover. 1Stijn Claessens is an Executive Fellow at the Yale School of Management and a fellow of CEPR; TaraRice is Head of the Secretariat of the Bank for International Settlements’ Committee on Paymentsand Market Infrastructures. Draft for Volume 18 of theAnnual Review of Financial Economics. Wewouldlike to thank respectively Thomas Lammer and Jamie McAndrews for their extensivecomments, the referee for their useful feedback, Federico Semorile for data analysis, ChakreeAksonthung for his editorial assistance, and Deborah Lucas for inviting us to author this paper. Theopinions expressed do not necessarily represent those of the Bank for International Settlements orits Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures. Yet, in many ways, progress in XBP has lagged behind the needs of society,especially when one differentiates wholesale XBP (institution to institution) from retailXBP (households and small firms paying abroad or sending money across borders)and remittances. While still less efficient than domestic payments, wholesale XBP arerelatively low cost and fast. Retail and remittances XBP are, however, much morecostly and slower than domestic payments. Globally, it still costs today on average$12 to remit $200 across borders and it can take multiple days. The goal of this paper is to review research and policy work to draw lessons forhow best to enhance XBP. While research on domestic payments is increasing, studieson XBP are few, particularly on new and possible innovative models supporting XBP.Common to both domestic and XBP is nevertheless the significant scope for marketfailures associated with two-sided markets—how to effectively cater to both payorsand payees—and the related network effects. Consequently, efficient paymentsarrangements can fail to emerge or, if they do, become uncompetitive. Public sectorinterventionshave typically been needed domestically.But establishing XBParrangementsand ensuring their efficient operation,including by using thetechnologies that are rapidly changing domestic payments landscapes, is muchhardergiven the large differences in countries’institutions,regulations andgovernance structures, and the limited presence of public sector mitigants commonlyemployed domestically. Considerable progress has been made under the G20 XBP program, started in2020, through establishing and e