The European Central Bank published research in its Economic Bulletin assessing the economic benefits of interlinking countries’ domestic fast payment systems for cross-border payments. It concludes that connecting these infrastructures could reduce reliance on multi-layer correspondent banking chains, lowering costs and increasing speed, and presents econometric evidence that interlinking is associated with an average increase in bilateral trade of around 4%. The analysis highlights persistent frictions in cross-border payments, noting that for nearly one-third of transactions costs exceed 3% of the transacted amount and that, on average, only 40% of international business-to-business transactions are settled within one working day (based on USD 20,000 transactions). It also points to a 20% decline in the global provision of correspondent banking services compared with the mid-2000s. Against this backdrop, more than 80 countries have deployed domestic fast payment systems, and the research cites around 500 existing cross-border connections; its dataset covers 84 countries and 531 links over 2021-2024. Estimated trade gains are larger where cross-border payment costs are higher and where interlinked systems support wholesale settlement alongside retail payments. The box frames the findings as supportive of the G20 Roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments and argues that realising the benefits of interlinking requires multilateral coordination on technical interoperability and on legal and regulatory barriers such as settlement finality rules, personal data protection and fraud management. It also notes ongoing Eurosystem work on new interlinkages, including with India’s Unified Payments Interface, and exploration of connections with Switzerland’s domestic fast payment system and Nexus Global Payments.
European Central Bank 2026-04-02
European Central Bank research finds interlinking fast payment systems is associated with about 4% higher bilateral trade
The European Central Bank published research finding that interlinking domestic fast payment systems for cross-border payments can reduce reliance on correspondent banking chains, lower costs, increase speed and is associated with an average 4% increase in bilateral trade. The analysis highlights persistent frictions in cross-border payments, a 20% decline in correspondent banking since the mid-2000s, and larger trade gains where payment costs are higher and systems support wholesale as well as retail settlement. The research supports the G20 Roadmap and underscores the need for multilateral coordination on interoperability and legal and regulatory barriers.