Rapyd ’ s 2023 State of B2B Cross-Border Payments report shows that businesses are divided on how they view the year ahead . Under half ( 43 %) expressed concern about the current state of business versus 57 % that claimed not to be concerned . In the UK , business sentiment is even more polarised , with 49 % of businesses expressing concern about the current conditions .

Half of global businesses cited inflation as their biggest worry , followed by increasing interest rates ( 46 %) and market volatility ( 35 %). Cross-border trading issues such as currency fluctuations ( 32 %) and import / export challenges ( 30 %) are also featured prominently in the list of key business concerns , with 35 % of businesses calling for better FinTech solutions to improve the transparency , speed and cost of payments .

Familiar payments challenges curb growth aspirations

Rapyd surveyed financial decision-makers in 715 medium-to-large cross-border businesses across seven global markets : Brazil , Canada , Germany , Mexico , Singapore , UK and US .

According to respondents , speed , cost and efficiency continue to be the backbone of cross-border operations and expansion . Current cross-border payment shortcomings – specifically high transaction fees and payment delays – inhibit growth by eating into revenues , harming cash flow and making it harder for businesses to plan their finances .

The study found that 76 % of businesses are burdened by excessive transaction fees of US $ 10 or more on cross-border payments to suppliers , partners , distributors , employees and contractors , including 25 % of businesses which reported typical cross-border transaction fees of US $ 25 – 50 , and 15 % which claimed to be paying fees of US $ 50 + dollars .

Similarly , more than two in five ( 42 %) cross-border businesses paid between

0.25 % to 1 % in foreign exchange ( FX ) fees when carrying out cross-border transactions , with a further quarter of the businesses paying even higher FX fees of between 1 %– 3 % or more .

And businesses aren ’ t faring any better when it comes to payments speed . Over one-third ( 38 %) of respondents experienced delays of five days or more when sending or receiving cross-border payments to other businesses . In the UK , payment delays was the most reported challenge when receiving cross-border payments , cited by one-third of businesses .

Globally , businesses recognise the need to overhaul legacy cross-border payment processes and see technology as essential to this transition . Just 35 % of financial decision-makers believe that better FinTech solutions will ease their current concerns and more than six in 10 businesses ( 61 %) have made payments systems digitisation a top priority , while another third have already automated their payments systems , although this figure drops to just 10 % in the UK . www . intelligentfin . tech

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