The cost of sending remittances has declined over the last 10 years, but it still stands at about 7 per cent on average: this is well above the G20 commitment in 2011 to reduce the cost to 5 per cent and the UN Sustainable Development Goal target of 3 per cent by 2030.3 For SMEs, the challenges for cross-border payments are no less daunting.
Transaction costs are proportionally higher for smaller payments. Opacity over execution times, processing chains and dispute resolution is another major concern. The riskiness of cross-border payments for small companies is magnified by the inadequacy, or even lack, of their liquidity management or of foreign‑exchange hedging and trade finance services. This is my first point: enhancing cross-border payments is vital for People.