Strategies for Competing in Global Payments
Patrik Havander — Head of Visa Direct Nordics & Baltics
Cross-border payments exhibit substantial growth—7% annually in retail and 9% in B2B—amid accelerated fintech, regulatory, and central bank innovations like CBDCs and initiatives such as Agora. Fintechs now capture 50% of cross-border retail payments, expanding into complex B2B sectors, driven by corporate dissatisfaction with legacy correspondent banking infrastructures and fragmented ACH networks. Visa leverages six decades of robust network infrastructure to simplify payments via platform acquisitions like Currency Cloud, offering virtual accounts, local IBANs, multi-currency Swift accounts, and real-time high-value payment rails globally.
"The revolution in payments has happened more in the last five years than in the fifty years prior. With fintech innovation and new regulatory initiatives, we can make the complex very simple, creating growth and success in the global payment landscape."
Summary
- Cross-border payments market is growing rapidly, with retail payments up 7% and B2B payments up 9% annually. - Fintechs have captured 50% of the cross-border retail payments, and now targeting the complex B2B payment space. - Corporates, especially large ones, are dissatisfied with current cross-border payment services and are ready to switch providers. - Existing alternatives like interconnected ACH face challenges due to currency limitations and competitive bank dynamics. - Visa leverages its robust network and recent acquisitions (e.g., Currency Cloud) to simplify cross-border payments, offering services like virtual accounts, FX, and instant high-value transfers.
Article
Visa executive reveals fintech firms have seized half of global cross-border payment market
Banking industry faces unprecedented challenge as corporate clients show growing dissatisfaction with traditional payment services
In a revealing assessment of the rapidly evolving global payments landscape, Visa executive Patrik Havander disclosed that fintech companies have captured 50% of cross-border retail payments and are now targeting the more complex business-to-business (B2B) sector. The stark revelation came during his presentation at the Nordic Fintech Summit in May 2025, where industry leaders gathered to discuss emerging trends in financial technology.
"The battle that we have had over the last ten years has been very concentrated around P2P payments," Havander told attendees. "Now fintechs are mounting up to capture the more complex B2B payment space as well."
A market poised for transformation
Havander, drawing on his extensive background in transaction banking at institutions including SAB, Tusky Bank, and Nordea, painted a picture of a market experiencing unprecedented disruption. Cross-border payments represent a massive growth opportunity, with retail payments increasing by approximately 7% annually and B2B payments growing even faster at around 9%.
The speed of change has been remarkable, with Havander quoting his CEO's observation that "more has happened in the last five years than the fifty years prior to that." This acceleration shows no signs of slowing, fueled by emerging fintech players, new regulatory frameworks, and central bank initiatives such as CBDCs and Agora.
Corporate clients ready to jump ship
Perhaps most concerning for traditional banks was Havander's revelation about corporate client dissatisfaction. According to Visa's survey of thousands of corporate clients, businesses are increasingly unhappy with current cross-border payment services, with larger corporations showing the highest levels of discontent.
"Our clients are not happy with the current banking system for cross-border payments, especially larger companies, which is a clear signal that change is needed," Havander warned. "This is so important for corporates that they are ready to change to another provider for their cross-border payments."
The complexity challenge
The underlying problem, Havander explained, stems from the complex web of correspondent banking relationships, bilateral agreements, and competing interests within financial institutions that have created a "freeze situation" in cross-border payments.
While numerous collaborative initiatives have emerged to address these issues, including interconnected ACH solutions, European Payment Initiatives, and Nexus with stablecoin, Havander remained skeptical about their prospects for success.
"Banks like to collaborate, but it's very hard to commercialize," he observed, citing failed initiatives in trade finance like We.trade and Marco Polo. "At the end of the day, banks are competing. It never flies, and that is part of the problem."
Visa's approach to disruption
In response to these challenges, Havander outlined Visa's strategy to "make the complex very simple." Leveraging six decades of infrastructure experience, the payments giant is expanding beyond card payments to offer comprehensive cross-border payment solutions.
Through strategic acquisitions like Currency Cloud and internal innovation, Visa has developed a suite of capabilities that includes funding solutions, FX conversion, virtual accounts with local IBANs, and multiple payment rails.
In perhaps the most significant announcement of his presentation, Havander revealed Visa's new high-value payment network—essentially a real-time gross settlement (RTGS) system—that enables instant or near-real-time cross-currency transactions of any amount. "You can send dollars to Malaysia and to Sweden or Polish zloti to Sweden in any amount, instantly or near-real time," he explained.
The future of global payments
Havander's presentation offered a stark reminder of how quickly the payments landscape is changing. With fintechs already controlling half of the retail cross-border market and now advancing into the B2B space, traditional financial institutions face critical strategic decisions.
The banking sector's response to this challenge will likely determine whether they can maintain relevance in a domain they once dominated or whether they will continue to lose ground to more agile competitors offering simpler, faster, and more user-friendly payment solutions.
As the dust settled on Havander's presentation at the Nordic Fintech Summit, one thing became clear: the revolution in global payments is no longer coming—it has arrived.
Part of Nordic Fintech Summit