Banks take 92% of global B2B payments – but are still waking up to $56tn opportunity

• Exclusive FXC Intelligence market sizing data released as part of a landmark report on the state of banks shows that in 2023 the entire B2B cross-border payments market saw payment flows of $30.2tn globally. Of that, $27.8tn was handled by banks, or 92%. 
• Despite banks dwarfing non-bank players and making significant revenue from cross-border payments, Standard Chartered is the only major bank of the 13 analysed to directly report data on this revenue regularly. 
• This may indicate a lack of executive-level interest in cross-border payments among banks, leaving gaps in the market – which is expected to reach $56tn by 2030 – for non-bank B2B players to take advantage of.

In 2023, the entire B2B cross-border payments market saw payment flows of $30.2tn globally. Of that, $27.8tn was handled by banks, or 92%, with non-banks having grown their share from previous years to 8%. This is according to a landmark report on the state of banks featuring exclusive data from FXC Intelligence, the market-leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence.

Of the 13 global banks assessed in the report, all offered extensive cross-border services, including payables, receivables, FX and clearing for corporate clients. However, only two out of the 13 banks assessed, Standard Chartered and Citi, directly report financial metrics related to cross-border payments on a regular basis. 

This may be indicative of a lack of interest in cross-border payments at the executive level of banks, despite it being a significant contributor to their overall revenues and considerable work from individual teams. This could also lead to a lack of support for projects and initiatives – lending weight to the commonly held belief that banks have not been paying sufficient attention to the sector. 

With the global B2B market expected to reach $56tn in flows by 2030, according to FXC Intelligence market sizing data, the opportunity for non-bank players to step into the gaps left by banks and so take market share is immense.

Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief, Head of Content and author of the report at FXC Intelligence, said: 

“Many banks are engaging in significant innovation in cross-border payments at a department level, but we aren’t seeing that reflected in how many banks’ leadership talk about the space. 

Standard Chartered and Citi are notable exceptions, and provide blueprints for how others in the industry can better showcase their work in this area at an executive level.

“While the non-bank B2B payments industry is comparatively small, it is growing fast and innovating quickly – and banks only have share to lose if they don’t recognise the value that cross-border payments brings to their business at the highest levels.” 

To read the report in full, click here.