• Consumers and businesses face losing $274bn in hidden FX fees in 2025 alone - with costs barely improving since the G20 set targets five years ago 
• Eight G20 members have already met the 2027 goal on direct access, but major economies like Argentina and Saudi Arabia continue to limit access to non-banks 
• Uneven progress on transparency and access risks leaving global payments slow and costly, unless governments and industry leaders accelerate reform

London, United Kingdom, October 9, 2025 – Wise, the global technology company building the best way to move and manage money, has today published its second annual G20 Report, assessing progress by the world’s largest economies on two critical building blocks of the G20 roadmap for enhancing cross-border payments: price transparency and direct access for non-bank payment service providers. The findings reveal a stark reality: despite five years of G20 commitments to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper and more transparent, progress in some countries has stalled. Average costs remain stubbornly high, leaving consumers and businesses set to lose $274 billion in hidden FX fees this year. The report comes ahead of the G20 Finance Ministers meeting in Washington, D.C., highlighting where policymakers must act to deliver on prior commitments.  

Transparency key to fairer, lower-cost payments 

This year’s G20 Report finds that progress on price transparency (when foreign exchange fees and markups are clearly labelled) remains uneven. The U.K. now ranks highest among all G20 members on transparency, following new guidance from the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) requiring FX markups to be clearly disclosed by the industry. India and Japan have improved but still leave gaps in how regulation is enforced, while the U.S. and Australia have seen regressions, leaving billions in hidden fees for consumers. Transparency remains a critical lever to empower consumers to make more informed decisions about payments, encourage competition that results in lower fees and reduce the cost of sending money across borders. 

Direct access unlocks faster, more competitive payments 

Direct access to payments systems for non-bank payment providers is essential to speeding up payments and lowering costs. The report highlights leaders such as the U.K., Brazil and the European Union, where regulatory frameworks allow non-banks to directly connect to national payment systems such as Pix or the Faster Payments System. Jurisdictions such as Argentina  and Saudi Arabia continue to prioritise traditional banking models over payment system innovation and competition. Japan and Canada are moving closer to granting non-banks access to their payment systems, proving the benefits of reform. Across the G20 however, progress on opening up systems remains too slow.

Diana Avila Gonzalez, Chief Banking & Expansion Officer, said: “Consumers and businesses are set to lose more than $274 billion to hidden FX fees in 2025 alone. That’s money that should stay in their pockets - not vanish into the shadows of unclear pricing. At the same time, in too many G20 countries, non-banks are locked out of payment systems, blocking the competition needed to bring costs down. Governments and regulators must act now: open up direct access, enforce transparency, and deliver on the commitments they made to make cross-border payments faster, cheaper, and fairer.” 

Ulrich Bindseil, former Director General for Market Infrastructures and Payments at the European Central Bank, and former Chair of CPMI PIE Taskforce, said: “This report fills an important gap in the work of the G20 to improve cross border payments, notably in reviewing progress on two key issues in a transparent and granular way. That progress is possible and is illustrated by the positive developments that this report allowed to identify: eight G20 members have the highest score for direct access of NBPSPs, with the EU joining this club over the last year, with others soon to follow.” 

Stefan Hall, Director, Digital Innovation and Impact, Consumers International, said: “A core component of fair digital finance is transparency: providing information to consumers in a way that is relevant, timely and inclusive. Almost two-thirds of Consumers International Members cite a lack of transparency in fees and charges as a significant factor behind consumer distrust in digital finance. While progress has been made, continued action is needed from across the financial system to improve transparency for consumers further. Consumers International is glad to have contributed to this report, and continues to work with consumer associations and industry actors such as Wise to push for improved transparency for consumers. The G20 has a major role in driving meaningful change as it represents over two-thirds of the world's population and 85% of global GDP.”

More information and the full report can be found here.

-ENDS-

About Wise

Wise is a global technology company, building the best way to move and manage the world's money. With Wise Account and Wise Business, people and businesses can hold 40 currencies, move money between countries and spend money abroad. Large companies and banks use Wise technology too; an entirely new network for the world's money. Launched in 2011, Wise is one of the world's fastest growing, profitable tech companies.

In fiscal year 2025, Wise supported around 15.6 million people and businesses, processing over $185 billion in cross-border transactions and saving customers around $2.7 billion.

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