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…
Author: Soe Laminn Thaw, Marketing Manager, APAC - Financial Messaging, Bottomline
Author
Soe Laminn Thaw, Marketing Manager, APAC - Financial Messaging, Bottomline
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.
As the global demand for faster, more affordable, and increasingly transparent cross-border payments intensifies, Project Nexus is emerging as a foundational initiative to meet the G20’s ambitious roadmap. Initially developed by the BIS Innovation Hub, Project Nexus aims to link domestic instant payment systems (IPS) through a single multilateral gateway, replacing the current patchwork of costly and complex bilateral connections. Today, the initiative is led by Nexus Global Payments (NGP), a not-for-profit organisation formed by the central banks and IPS operators of five pioneering countries: India, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, and Thailand. To delve deeper into how Nexus supports this…
APAC has solidified its position as the leader in global real-time payments, processing nearly 70% of the world’s 266 billion transactions in 2023. What makes APAC unique is its blend of diverse regulatory frameworks and a multitude of exotic currencies, creating a dynamic payments environment. The region is home to four of the top five global real-time payment markets by volume, showcasing APAC’s strategic measures to lead the global payments landscape. By 2028, APAC’s transaction volume is projected to rise to 351 billion, driven by rapid adoption and advancements in the real-time payments landscape as reported in Global Data’s Prime…
In a region experiencing rapid digitalisation, Asia-Pacific is projected to lead global cashless transaction growth and surpass 50% of the world’s volumes, according to the PwC Payments 2025 & Beyond report. Although presenting abundant growth opportunities, this dynamic landscape brings a unique set of challenges for banks and financial institutions. Fintech provider Bottomline’s latest report, ‘The Future of Competitive Advantage in Banking & Payments 2023″, compares the strategic priorities and roadmaps of financial institutions (FIs) in APAC against their global counterparts in meeting customer expectations and gaining a competitive edge in the rapidly evolving APAC payments landscape. Banking on the…