The G20’s plan to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, more transparent and more accessible is entering its final stretch. Most of its 11 quantitative targets fall due at the end of 2027, and the Financial Stability Board (FSB), which coordinates the work for the G20, has begun asking governments, central banks and the payments industry what should follow. For companies and families that send money across borders, the answer will shape costs and settlement times well beyond 2027.
What the targets require
G20 leaders endorsed the targets in 2021, covering three segments: wholesale payments, retail payments and remittances. For retail payments, the global average cost is to be no more than 1%, with no corridor above 3%, by the end of 2027. Seventy-five percent of retail payments and remittances are to reach the recipient within one hour of initiation, with the rest within one business day.
Remittance costs follow the UN Sustainable Development Goal: an average of no more than 3% to send $200 by 2030, with no corridor above 5%. Payment providers are also expected to show customers the total cost, including fees and currency conversion charges, the expected delivery time and the status of the payment.
Where progress stands
The data show uneven progress. A Federal Reserve staff note published on August 26, 2026, which draws on the FSB’s 2025 progress report and World Bank data, found that 54.4% of remittances worldwide were available within one hour in 2025, against the 75% target. The global simple average cost of sending $200 was 6.5%, more than double the 3% goal.
Remittances sent from the United States performed somewhat better, with 61.4% available within an hour and an average cost of 5.6%. Using the average of the three cheapest services in each corridor, the cost from the United States was 2.8%, below the target. In wholesale payments, North America was the fastest region, with 73.1% of payments received within an hour in 2025, according to the note.
The note also lists recent U.S. changes. The Fedwire Funds Service moved to the ISO 20022 messaging standard in July 2025. In October 2025 the Federal Reserve approved extending Fedwire and National Settlement Service hours to 22 hours a day, seven days a week. In April 2026 the Federal Reserve Board proposed changes to Regulation J that would let banks use the FedNow Service for cross-border flows; the comment period closed on June 9, 2026.
What comes after 2027
In a July 8, 2026 speech, FSB Deputy Secretary General Martin Moloney said the quantitative measures “tell us we still have a way to go.” He cited fragmented markets in which each corridor can behave like its own market, heavy reliance on foreign exchange markets, slow technology adoption and the absence of a single authority able to direct change.
Moloney noted that stablecoins carried, by some estimates, less than 0.2% of cross-border payments in 2025, and suggested their nearer-term value may be as components of hybrid models alongside bank money. He asked whether the next phase should keep removing frictions or move to corridor-by-corridor and regional action plans with clear ownership, and he invited stakeholders to send submissions.
The question now moves through the G20 calendar. The United States holds the 2026 G20 presidency, with leaders due in Miami on December 14 and 15, and the United Kingdom follows in 2027, the year most of the targets fall due.
Sources
- Financial Stability Board: G20 Targets for Enhancing Cross-border Payments
- Financial Stability Board: Cross-border payments: towards the next chapter (July 8, 2026)
- Federal Reserve Board: A Decade of U.S. Cross-Border Payments Efforts, FEDS Notes (August 26, 2026)
- G20 USA 2026: Leaders’ Summit, Miami
- W20: W20 Presidencies (2026 troika and 2027 handover)
