Saxo Payments launched a white paper revealing the results of exclusive research into the cross border payments industry. Those surveyed included issuers, acquirers and PSPs as well as merchants, for a rounded view of the market, covering issues such as speed of money transfer, fees for international payments, and FX rates.
The survey reveals that of these businesses, 63% are not satisfied with how long international transfers take to arrive in the recipient’s account, and just 38% believe they get a competitive FX rate for cross border payments with their current provider. However, a third of respondents haven’t even looked around at other options – with lack of time for research given as the most common reason.
Anders la Cour, Chief Executive Officer of Saxo Payments, explains why the company carried out the research: “With international trade increasing rapidly, payments processes need to keep up to ensure they do not hold businesses back from their full potential. Traditional cross border bank transfers are no longer the only solution, but we wanted to know if companies are aware of the alternatives or simply sleepwalking through the process, paying high fees for poor foreign exchange rates and slow transfers.
“Our research reveals that companies are too embroiled in day to day tasks, providing customers with a good service. This is making it hard for them to see – or make the time to find out about – the bigger picture, to realise they could get a better payments service. This could be a mistake for many businesses, as there are big savings to be made by switching provider, or indeed using a number of suppliers to provide the best possible solution to meet the individual requirements of the company.”
Encouragingly, the survey shows that businesses would be willing to switch provider if they could see the benefits. 79.4% stated that if they found a solution which cost less, they would change payment provider, and 63% said that a service providing faster transactions would push them to make the move.
Anders la Cour continues, “The most exciting part, for us, is the high proportion of respondents who recognise the opportunities of newer and lesser-known providers, and would be willing to employ one if it meant a better and cheaper service. Again, the reason they have not yet made that move is the lack of time to research alternatives, rather than a lack of alternatives. Just 27% were even aware of any new entrants in the market, showing just how time-poor businesses are when it comes to researching the payments process options.
“It is time for businesses to reassess their priorities, to see just how much they could benefit from streamlining their payments process to ensure it performs better for them. Predictions* show that global trade flows could reach up to $85 trillion by 2025, tripling the current scale. With this in mind, the 3% fee many businesses are paying for international transfers could equate to $2.55 trillion in profit wasted by companies around the world – not a figure many can afford to ignore.”
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