Wise tips five trends reshaping cross-border payments

Wise has set out five cross-border payments trends that it expects to mature in 2026, indicating regulatory changes, new infrastructure links, and rising customer demands as pressures on banks and payment providers.

The company highlighted changes in the US and Europe that it said will influence how providers structure international transfers and settlement. It also referenced industry work on interoperability between domestic instant payment systems and international networks.

Regulatory shifts

In the US, Wise referenced the GENIUS Act, which it said is being watched by the industry as a basis for wider use of stablecoins in payments and settlement.

In Europe, it pointed to the European Instant Payments Regulation. The rules require euro electronic credit transfers to complete in ten seconds and carry charges no higher than standard payments. The regulation also introduces Verification of Payee in the Eurozone, which checks recipient details before a payment is sent.

Wise said Verification of Payee has become a day-to-day process for Eurozone banks and payment providers after the second phase of the regulation began in late 2025. It added that non-eurozone states in the European Economic Area face later deadlines for receiving and sending instant payments and for implementing Verification of Payee.

Infrastructure focus

Wise said the sector has placed more emphasis on connecting directly into domestic fast payment schemes. It cited the Financial Stability Board's work on cross-border payments and its view that direct links to fast local schemes represent a significant opportunity for near real-time experiences.

The company also referenced new infrastructure initiatives that focus on interoperability. These include Swift's digital ledger initiative and the Bank for International Settlements' Project Nexus, which aims to interconnect domestic fast payment systems.

Wise said these developments suggest the industry has moved from incremental improvements towards wider adoption of real-time cross-border payments. It also said end-to-end performance still varies by corridor and provider.

Retail expectations

Wise argued that consumer expectations have moved towards near-instant cross-border transfers and more visibility on delivery. It cited Swift research stating that 79% of consumers expect cross-border payments within an hour.

The company said traditional processes still mean many cross-border transfers take three to five working days. It linked this to intermediary-heavy chains that create friction and reduce transparency.

Wise also connected cross-border payment performance to customer loyalty in retail banking. It cited Accenture research, which reported that banks with high customer advocacy scores see faster revenue growth and increased product holdings per customer compared with peers.

It pointed to Malaysia's MBSB Bank as an example of a bank placing emphasis on international payments as part of its retail proposition.

"Winning customers' deposits, and getting them to hold day-to-day money with the bank, was tough, and that's precisely why we decided to invest in our global payments services," said Rafe Haneef, Group Chief Executive Officer, MBSB Berhad.

SMEs as a battleground

Wise said expectations for fast cross-border transfers now extend beyond consumers. It cited research that 76% of small and medium-sized enterprises expect international payments to reach recipients in less than an hour.

It said a delayed settlement can weigh on working capital for smaller firms. It also said payment speed and certainty affect supplier relationships and payroll, and can limit international expansion.

The company said financial service providers and platforms now compete more directly for SME customers through integrated cross-border payment functions.

"Our customers needed access to specific currencies, and the ability to make global payments instantly and conveniently. Doing this ourselves would be complex, costly, and slow. By leveraging Wise Platform's global network of direct connections into faster payment systems, we've been able to provide competitive experiences to our SMEs," said Giovanni Casinelli, Co-founder and President at Aspire.

G20 deadlines

Wise also pointed to the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-border Payments, which targets lower costs and near real-time retail payments. It said the Financial Stability Board has expressed concern about progress against the targets, with deadlines approaching in 2027.

Wise highlighted ISO 20022 migration as an operational milestone. It said the mandate will require structured or hybrid address formats for international payments, retiring unstructured free-text addresses. It linked the change to improvements in operational processing and interoperability.

"The roadmap is here to make payments faster, lower-cost, and more transparent - we want to see the public sector working actively towards this. Five years on, we've made progress, but there are still major challenges, and end users aren't reaping the benefits of this roadmap just yet. While policy work is done, there's still a lot more to do on the implementation level," said Jennifer Fowler, Member of the Secretariat of the Financial Stability Board.

Fewer intermediaries

Wise said limiting the number of intermediaries in a cross-border payment chain has become a point of competition. It said direct participation in domestic payment systems can reduce cost and complexity and improve visibility and control.

It also said the work required for direct integrations remains significant, particularly for banks operating legacy systems and multiple product lines. It revealed the need for local presence, regulatory engagement and operational resources.

Partnership model

Wise positioned partnerships between banks, platforms and payment infrastructure providers as a major theme for 2026. It said many institutions will continue to favour partnerships over building extensive networks of direct domestic connections themselves.

Wise said it participates directly in eight domestic payment systems and works with more than 90 banking partners. It referenced a partnership with Upwork and included performance figures attributed to Wise Platform.

"It's (Wise Platform's) a combination of global and local reach, network infrastructure and licenses. Easy to use APIs and a positive culture made Wise stand out as a partner to add to our ecosystem. Now, 80% of global payments via Wise platform are instant, and 88% are delivered within 24 hours", said Mohit Kumar, General Manager Payments and Vice President Product, Upwork.

Wise said banks and payment providers will face stronger pressure in 2026 to modernise cross-border payments, as more jurisdictions adopt instant payment rules and as customers continue to compare providers on delivery speed, fees and transparency.