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Cross-border payments sit at the heart of global finance, yet remain one of its most persistent challenges, plagued by high costs, slow processing times, and limited transparency.
In Asia-Pacific, the complexity is amplified by nearly 50 currencies, diverse regulatory environments, and varying levels of financial infrastructure.
To address these issues, the G20 has set ambitious targets for 2027: reduce costs to below 3 percent, ensure 75 percent of payments are completed within one hour, achieve full transparency on fees and FX, and broaden access for all users.
APAC is primed to build on its domestic real-time payments success and extend its leadership across borders, with initiatives like Project Nexus offering a blueprint for how the region can align with the G20 roadmap.
At the core of the discussion was Project Nexus, first developed as an initiative by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) Innovation Hub to interlink domestic instant payment systems through a multilateral model.
Unlike today’s patchwork of bilateral links that require separate negotiations, legal frameworks, and integrations for each corridor, Nexus enables a single connection that opens access to the entire network.
The initiative is now implemented by Nexus Global Payments (NGP), a not-for-profit formed by five central banks in India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand to manage and operationalise the Nexus cross-border payments scheme.
Ricky Lim, Managing Director for South Asia at TBCASoft who supported the development of Nexus under the BIS Innovation Hub, explained:
Ricky Lim
“By linking domestic instant payment systems to a unified model, Nexus cuts through complexity, improves transparency, and can deliver payments in under a minute.”
He noted that Nexus builds on infrastructure already in place, such as PayNow in Singapore, DuitNow in Malaysia, and PromptPay in Thailand.
Acting as the bridge, it uses a shared rulebook and technical framework rather than bespoke bilateral builds.
This makes it scalable and sustainable, while directly supporting the G20 objectives of speed, cost reduction, transparency, and access.
The broader potential has also been highlighted outside of the webinar.
Agustín Carstens, BIS General Manager, remarked that “even with just the first wave of connected countries, Nexus has the potential to connect a market of 1.7 billion people globally, facilitating easy and cost-effective instant payments.”
Malaysia’s ISO 20022 Journey
Driven by the November deadline, banks worldwide have made ISO 20022 adoption a strategic priority.
From a bank’s perspective, Emli Faizul bin Jano, Deputy Director of Group Payment Operations at MBSB Bank, shared Malaysia’s experience.
Bank Negara Malaysia completed the migration of its Rentas RTGS system to ISO 20022 in December 2024, reflecting the country’s proactive stance in adopting structured messaging standards.
MBSB Bank was one of the pioneers, completing its own migration as early as May 2023.
Emli Faizul bin Jano
“Modernisation goes beyond technology. It requires strong governance, change management, and collaboration across the industry.
Our phased approach, supported by structured testing and training, ensured a smooth transition,”
For MBSB, the migration was not just about regulatory alignment but about harmonising systems across treasury, remittance, and trade finance.
The outcome has been improved reconciliation, better data clarity, and a stronger foundation for future cross-border initiatives such as Nexus.
Industry Perspective: Simplifying Connectivity
For banks across APAC, the challenge is not only adopting new standards but also managing the complexity of multiple networks.
Edouard Joliveau, Product Lead for Swift Connectivity and Value-Added Services at Bottomline, highlighted that institutions are increasingly seeking simplified solutions.
Edouard Joliveau
“Banks don’t want dozens of separate connections. They want a single point of entry to multiple payment rails, supported by services like intelligent routing and sanctions screening that reduce friction.”
In his role, Edouard works directly with financial institutions across the region to modernise their Swift connectivity and prepare for a multi-rail future.
He noted that SaaS-based infrastructures are emerging as best practices, helping banks simplify operations, reduce costs, and prepare for industry initiatives like Nexus without major disruption.
Market Perspectives
The session also polled live attendees, providing insight into the most pressing challenges facing APAC banks.
When asked about the greatest pain point in cross-border payments, the majority pointed to slow or unknown speed of arrival and lack of visibility, followed by the cost of maintaining multiple nostro accounts and the issue of trapped liquidity.
These findings align with the speakers’ observations that customer expectations for speed and visibility are rising, while outdated systems still limit progress.
It is also worth highlighting that trapped liquidity might have ranked higher if respondents had reflected on the role of operating hours, as many markets still lack 24/7/365 availability that enables liquidity to move freely.
On the adoption of real-time and instant payments, nearly 70 percent of respondents identified legacy infrastructure as their biggest barrier.
This reinforces the urgency of modernisation if the region is to meet the G20’s 2027 deadlines.
Meeting Customer Expectations
Ultimately, delivering on the G20 roadmap is not just about meeting compliance milestones.
As the speakers stressed, the end goal is to deliver better outcomes for businesses and end users: payments that are faster, more cost-efficient, transparent, and reliable.
For APAC banks, the priorities are clear:
Invest in ISO 20022 readiness to ensure structured data supports compliance, reconciliation, and visibility.
Leverage initiatives like Project Nexus to simplify cross-border connectivity and expand network access.
Adopt SaaS-based infrastructure to streamline multi-rail integration.
Keep customer needs central, ensuring that every investment translates into tangible improvements in speed, clarity, and cost.
As Emli concluded,
“If we keep standardisation, partnership, and end-user outcomes at the centre, we can ensure that modernisation delivers real benefits to both people and businesses.”
Final Thoughts
Cross-border payments in APAC still face deep-rooted obstacles, from regulatory fragmentation to outdated infrastructure.
Yet these very challenges also make the region a proving ground for innovation.
As the webinar highlighted, progress will not come from compliance alone.
It will require banks to build on their ISO 20022 foundations, embrace multilateral models like Nexus, and simplify connectivity across multiple rails.
Importantly, it will require keeping customer outcomes front and centre, delivering speed, transparency, and access at scale.
If APAC’s financial institutions align these priorities with the G20 roadmap, the region will not only meet the 2027 targets but also set the global standard for how cross-border payments evolve toward greater inclusivity, visibility, and connectivity.
Watch the on-demand webinar for deeper insights and the full discussion.
Thaw is responsible for managing the APAC marketing function at Bottomline. She has expert knowledge of the key payment trends in the region, including messaging, orchestration, and connectivity, with a specialisation in real-time domestic and cross-border payments. With an understanding of the diverse and complex APAC market, Thaw shares her insights through APAC-specific supplements and articles. She has also led webinars and in-person events across Cambodia, Thailand, Mongolia, Indonesia, and Hong Kong, connecting with prospects and clients across the region.
