In the Race for Faster Cross-Border Payments, Speed Is Not the Only Issue

The problem isn’t just cost, it’s architecture. Traditional settlement systems, while built for reliability, rely on a chain of intermediaries, each adding steps, compliance checks, and fees. And while recent innovations have shortened settlement windows and improved efficiency, the deeper question remains: what kind of system are we actually optimising? Are we simply accelerating outdated processes, or are we reimagining the infrastructure altogether?

Regulatory reform is beginning to reshape the landscape. From November 2025, financial institutions will be required to adopt ISO 20022 as the standard format for payment messaging. This is more than a technical upgrade; it’s a new language for money. ISO 20022 allows payment messages to carry richer, more structured data, including not just who is paying whom and how much, but also why, under what conditions, and with what compliance details. It’s a shift toward smarter, more transparent transactions that can be read and processed by both humans and machines.

But even with better data and faster rails, fragmentation persists, especially in Africa. The continent’s cross-border payment systems are divided by incompatible currencies and regulatory frameworks. A viable solution must go beyond speed and cost; it must align technical protocols and settlement rules so payments can move securely between jurisdictions without detouring through offshore intermediaries. This is not just a technical challenge, it’s a strategic imperative.

Digitisation and AI have brought efficiency gains, but they’ve also expanded the attack surface for fraud and cyber threats. Instant settlement leaves little room for intervention once a malicious transaction is initiated. Without interoperable cybersecurity protocols and real-time anomaly detection, the same technologies that accelerate payments can also accelerate loss. Speed, in this context, is a double-edged sword.

Real-time settlement only works if technical standards, compliance data, and settlement instructions move consistently across borders. Otherwise, faster rails simply compress the timeline for reconciliation errors and disputes. Achieving this level of consistency demands new forms of collaboration: between banks, fintechs, mobile money operators, and regulators. Shared utilities that concentrate scarce technical expertise and reduce duplication are key. As integration costs fall, the case for regional settlement hubs and pooled compliance screening strengthens, creating the scale needed to embed regulatory requirements directly into the transaction flow.

This shift – treating AML, KYC, and sanctions screening as infrastructure rather than back-office tasks – will be essential for scaling transaction volumes without running into regulatory bottlenecks. It’s about building a payment network that’s not just fast, but resilient. And that resilience will be the true measure of success.

These themes will likely dominate discussions at SIBOS 2025, where industry leaders and technical specialists will set priorities for the next phase of global financial infrastructure.

For African markets, the challenge is clear: how to translate global agendas into regionally coherent systems that can handle rising transaction volumes without sacrificing regulatory integrity or market stability. The future of cross-border payments won’t be defined by how quickly money moves, but by how well the system holds up under pressure.