Moving money across borders used to be a slow, expensive, and hard-to-track process. With the cross-border payments market valued at about $1 quadrillion in 2024, there’s huge incentive for change. A new generation of payment platforms built with modern infrastructure are beginning to solve the problem. However, cross-border remains one of the most complex and evolving layers of the financial stack.

Below, we’ll cover what sets modern cross-border payment platforms apart from legacy systems, and the challenges they still face.

What’s in this article?

• What are cross-border payment platforms?
  
• What distinguishes a modern cross-border payment platform from legacy systems?
  
• How do global payment networks handle compliance, foreign exchange (FX), and settlement layers?
  
• Which technologies are transforming the space?
  
• How do platforms create transparency and trust across jurisdictions?
  
• What operational and regulatory friction slows down cross-border flows?
  
• Which performance metrics matter most when comparing cross-border payment providers?
  
• How Stripe Payments can help
  

What are cross-border payment platforms?

Cross-border payment platforms enable individuals and organizations to make cross-border payments. They’re often used by businesses that need to pay clients, employees, contractors, or suppliers in different countries, or by marketplaces paying out vendors and customers across the globe. Different platforms have different capabilities, and newer platforms are typically able to send cross-border payments faster, with fewer fees and more transparency.

What distinguishes a modern cross-border payment platform from legacy systems?

Traditional cross-border payments still rely on a web of correspondent banks. Each handoff adds extra fees, compliance, and processing delays, and offers limited visibility into where the money is located at any given time. These systems were built in a previous era, before payment application programming interfaces (APIs), real-time messaging, and global platforms became an important part of international commerce.

Instead of routing funds through a long chain of banks, modern cross-border payment systems simplify the path by keeping money “local” on both sides. Platforms hold funds in-country, so payouts are made locally, no matter where the sender is located.

Modern cross-border platforms also use automation. Compliance, FX, and settlement are handled programmatically instead of manually, which cuts down on delays and errors. These platforms tend to use integrated systems, so a single API can handle sending, converting, and settling payments. Payments move faster, and recipients get paid in minutes or hours instead of days.

Stripe’s global payouts platform, for example, lets businesses send money to 50+ countries through one integration. Local compliance, currency conversion, and payout timing are all handled behind the scenes.

How do global payment networks handle compliance, FX, and settlement layers?

Modern cross-border platforms work because they simplify three notoriously cumbersome processes: compliance, FX, and settlement. In the past, each one slowed down payments. Today, they are highly automated and integrated.

Compliance

In legacy systems, every bank in the chain runs its own checks, such as sanctions screening, Anti-Money Laundering (AML), or Know Your Customer (KYC) guidelines. That means the same transaction might get flagged and screened three or four times. Delays can stack up.

Modern platforms consolidate this work. Instead of relying on five separate banks to check a payment, they screen it once, upfront, using software built for speed and accuracy. This leads to faster approvals and a lower chance that your payment will get stuck in limbo.

FX

In the old model, currency conversion or FX was often handled by an intermediary, which meant you rarely knew the exchange rate you were getting upfront. Markups were baked in and disclosed after the fact, if at all.

Modern platforms pull in live rates, convert funds at competitive prices, and show you exactly what the recipient will get before you hit “send.” Some platforms even offer tools to lock in rates or to time conversions with better market conditions. Others pre-fund currency pools globally to reduce slippage and keep transactions moving during volatility.

Settlement

Legacy settlement happens in batches, during banking hours, across multiple time zones. That means a payment on Friday might not clear until early the following week. Each intermediary has to reconcile and approve before passing it on.

Modern platforms are structured to avoid that delay. They net payments, use real-time domestic networks where possible, and often pre-fund local accounts to ensure payouts happen in hours. Some even use instant, always-on networks such as blockchain or stablecoins for high-speed corridors.

By linking payments into one flow, the modern model creates a fast, transparent, and compliant process from the start.

Which technologies are transforming the space?

Three major forces are reshaping how money moves across borders: blockchain and stablecoins, ISO 20022, and real-time payment networks. These technologies solve different problems; together, they’re transforming the cross-border payments industry into one that’s as immediate and reliable as domestic payments.

Blockchain and stablecoins

The core idea behind blockchain payments is to move money like you move data. That means directly, instantly, and anytime. Stablecoins, which are digital tokens pegged to real-world assets, offer the benefits of speed and traceability without the volatility risk of other types of cryptocurrency.

Businesses are already using stablecoins to settle large international transactions in minutes, outside of banking hours. Between 2019 and 2025, stablecoins processed around $279.9 trillion in payment activity globally, with cross-border payments and remittances as a major use case. That kind of volume is reshaping high-value corridors.

Blockchains also reduce reliance on intermediaries. Instead of passing a payment through three or four banks, you settle it directly on a shared ledger. That simplifies reconciliation, speeds up delivery, and minimizes fees. Regulators are still catching up in many markets, but the efficiency gains are real.

ISO 20022

This messaging standard doesn’t make payments faster, but it does make them smarter.
ISO 20022 replaces older formats, such as SWIFT MT messages, with richer, more structured data. That means payment messages can now include detailed references, invoice numbers, and even compliance metadata.

ISO 20022 is already being adopted across the global banking system. In 2025, an estimated 40% of cross-border messages were ISO 20022-native. For platforms and APIs already built around structured data, this shift means better automation, fewer errors, and easier tracking.

Real-time networks

Domestic real-time payment systems, such as Unified Payments Interface (UPI), Pix, and Faster Payments, are becoming the foundation that global platforms rely on.

What’s new is the effort to connect them. Singapore and Thailand now allow people to send funds between their real-time networks using only a phone number. Projects such as BIS Nexus and mBridge are testing how to link real-time systems across continents for settlement within 60 seconds.

As more countries plug in, global payments will become faster, approaching the speed of local payments.

How do platforms create transparency and trust across jurisdictions?

Cross-border payments have a history of being opaque, and some still are. After making a payment, you might have to wait for the money to arrive, without knowing exactly where it was or how much would arrive after fees. That uncertainty made it hard to know whether platforms and systems were truly reliable.

Modern platforms are making the cross-border payments experience visible, with three major changes:

• Upfront pricing: Senders see FX rates, fees, and delivery estimates before confirming a payment. In some cases, recipients see the same details. That kind of clarity is user-friendly, and it’s increasingly expected.

• Real-time tracking: Just like tracking a shipment, you can now track a payment. Platforms show when it’s received, where it is in transit, and when it’s delivered. If something stalls, you know why.

• Reliable infrastructure: Trust also depends on predictability. Platforms with built-in redundancy, automated compliance screening, and local licenses keep payments flowing even when local systems slow down.

The increased visibility helps users feel in control, but it also helps platforms stay in sync with regulators. When transactions are easy to trace and audit, regulators are more willing to let platforms operate across borders.

What operational and regulatory friction still slows down cross-border flows?

Cross-border payments have become faster, but they still encounter delays. This is especially true when you move beyond major currency corridors.

Here’s why cross-border payments can still be slow.

Fragmented regulation

Every country has its own rules around cross-border payments, such as licensing requirements, documentation, local taxes, or capital controls. This means the same transaction might need extra checks or paperwork depending on where it’s going. Compliance is nonnegotiable, and many different systems working together can cause delays.

Multi-hop payment routes

Some regions still rely on long chains of correspondent banks to move funds. Each hop means more screening, potential for errors, and wait time. This can become even slower if one intermediary has a narrow processing window or outdated infrastructure.

Liquidity constraints

Many providers hold funds in pre-funded accounts (nostro accounts) to make fast payouts. That ties up working capital and limits flexibility. Emerging solutions, such as stablecoin systems or smarter liquidity management, are helping free up trapped capital, but it’s still a constraint in certain markets.

Outdated infrastructure

Not every domestic system is real-time. Some operate in batches or shut down on weekends, which creates timing mismatches across time zones. You might transfer money on Friday that doesn’t land until Tuesday.

Narrow access

“De-risking” by large global banks has left some countries with fewer correspondent links, making them harder to reach and more expensive to serve. Smaller providers fill some gaps, but coverage remains uneven.

These factors shape cost, access, and reliability. Solving them requires better coordination between platforms, regulators, and local banking systems.

Which performance metrics matter most when comparing cross-border payment providers?

Here are the metrics to pay attention to when comparing cross-border payment providers. Providers that excel in these areas will help you move money across borders at scale.

Speed

How fast do funds arrive, and how consistently? Some platforms deliver within minutes, while others take a day or more, depending on the corridor. Look at performance broken down by region.

Cost

What’s the true all-in cost? This includes transaction fees, FX markups, and any third-party charges deducted before payout. Providers that surface total cost upfront make it easier to plan and compare.

Reliability

How often do payments succeed without manual fixes or follow-ups? Platforms that validate data upfront, auto-resolve errors, and reroute around issues reduce failure rates and support overhead.

Coverage

Can the platform reach the countries and currencies you need consistently? Does it support local payout methods, such as bank transfers or digital wallets?

Transparency

Do you get live tracking, delivery confirmations, and real-time issue alerts? Can your finance team reconcile transactions without back-and-forth?

The best platforms are the ones that keep your team out of the weeds but also disclose important details so you can stay informed.

How Stripe Payments can help

Stripe Payments provides a unified, global payments solution that helps any business—from scaling startups to global enterprises—accept payments online, in person, and around the world.

Stripe Payments can help you:

• Optimize your checkout experience: Create a frictionless customer experience and save thousands of engineering hours with prebuilt payment UIs, access to 125+ payment methods, and Link, a wallet built by Stripe.

• Expand to new markets faster: Reach customers worldwide and reduce the complexity and cost of multicurrency management with cross-border payment options, available in 195 countries across 135+ currencies.

• Unify payments in person and online: Build a unified commerce experience across online and in-person channels to personalize interactions, reward loyalty, and grow revenue.

• Improve payments performance: Increase revenue with a range of customizable, easy-to-configure payment tools, including no-code fraud protection and advanced capabilities to improve authorization rates.

• Move faster with a flexible, reliable platform for growth: Build on a platform designed to scale with you, with 99.999% historical uptime and industry-leading reliability.

Learn more about how Stripe Payments can power your online and in-person payments, or get started today.