Home / Glossary / Cross-Border Payments

Cross-Border Payments: Definition & Blockchain Impact

What Are Cross-Border Payments? 

Cross-border payments are financial transactions where the payer and recipient are based in different countries. Funds could move to and from businesses or individuals.  

They facilitate the worldwide exchange of money for trade, remittances, investments, and international business, becoming essential to the global economy.

In today’s digital economy, cross-border payments have become increasingly important as businesses and consumers demand faster, cheaper, and more transparent ways to move money globally. Traditional systems often rely on intermediaries and legacy banking networks, resulting in slow settlement times and high fees. The rise of digital assets and blockchain technology is transforming this landscape by offering near-instant settlement, reduced operational costs, and enhanced security.

Blockchain infrastructure platforms like Fireblocks are at the forefront of this transformation. By providing enterprise-grade tools to securely move, hold, manage and issue stablecoins and digital assets, Fireblocks enables institutions to streamline cross-border payments and settlements. Through its secure and scalable infrastructure, Fireblocks empowers banks, payment providers, and stablecoin issuers to unlock new efficiencies and use cases—bringing faster, more cost-effective, and transparent payment solutions to the global financial ecosystem.

How Do Cross-Border Payments Work?

Traditionally, cross-border payments move through a multi-step process involving several intermediaries. 

1. A transaction begins with payment initiation, where funds are sent from a payer’s bank in one country to a recipient’s bank in another. 
2. Then, the payment is converted into the recipient’s local currency
3. It is routed through correspondent or intermediary banks, each taking fees for processing and compliance checks along the way. 

Since these networks rely on legacy messaging systems and operate only during business hours, settlements often take three to five business days to complete. This also includes limited transparency into fees and status updates.

In contrast, blockchain rails are transforming this process. Platforms like Fireblocks enable businesses to orchestrate cross-border transactions instantly and securely using stablecoins, without relying on multiple intermediaries. By leveraging digital assets, payments occur 24/7, with real-time visibility, reduced costs, and near-instant finality. Fireblocks provides the secure infrastructure that allows banks, payment providers, and enterprises to move value globally with the speed, transparency, and efficiency demanded by today’s digital economy.

Why Are Cross-Border Payments Important?

Cross-border payments are the foundation of the global economy. Some characteristics to note are: 

• They enable the seamless movement of money between individuals, businesses, and governments across borders.  
• They power international trade (eg, imports, exports), allowing companies to buy and sell goods and services globally.
• They support global workforces, enabling payroll for employees and contractors abroad.
• They facilitate remittances, which are lifelines for millions of families in developing economies as well as creators and gig workers around the globe. 

According to industry estimates, global cross-border payment flows exceed $150 trillion annually, underscoring their critical role in driving economic growth, financial inclusion, and international commerce.

With the growth of global connectivity and digital trade, there’s increasing demand for cross-border payment solutions that are quicker, cost-effective, and more transparent.

Payment companies and banks using Fireblocks’ blockchain infrastructure are meeting this need by processing high volumes of cross-border value securely and efficiently. 

By leveraging  stablecoins, these organizations can settle payments in real time. This eliminates friction, reducing costs, and unlocking new opportunities for global trade and digital finance. Fireblocks’ enterprise-grade platform provides the secure foundation that powers this transformation, helping institutions scale confidently in the onchain economy.

What Are the Main Types of Cross-Border Payments?

Cross-border payments can be made through several different channels, each with its own processes, advantages, and limitations. The most common types include:

• Wire Transfers (SWIFT): One of the oldest and most widely used methods, wire transfers rely on the SWIFT network to move funds between banks across countries. While secure and globally recognized, this method often involves multiple intermediaries. This results in high fees and settlement times of several business days.
• Credit Card Payments: Frequently used for international e-commerce, credit card transactions allow consumers to purchase goods and services across borders. However, card networks and foreign exchange conversions introduce additional costs, and settlement between banks can take days.
• ACH Transfers and Local Payment Networks: In some regions, automated clearing house (ACH) systems and domestic equivalents (such as SEPA in Europe) facilitate cross-border transfers through partnerships between banks. These can be cost-effective but are limited by regional coverage and operating hours.
• Fintech and Digital Payment Platforms: Modern fintech companies simplify global transactions by using digital wallets, mobile apps, and network partnerships to offer faster, user-friendly payment options. While more accessible, they often depend on legacy rails underneath, limiting true settlement speed.
• Blockchain-Based Payments: The newest and most transformative category leverages digital assets and stablecoins to enable instant, 24/7 settlement across borders. Platforms built on blockchain infrastructure eliminate intermediaries, reduce costs, and increase transparency

What Are the Challenges of Traditional Cross-Border Payments?

Traditional cross-border payment systems face significant inefficiencies that make moving money across borders slow, costly, and opaque. Transactions often pass through multiple correspondent banks and intermediaries, each adding processing fees and compliance checks. As a result, total costs can reach 3–7% of the transaction value, especially for smaller transfers. Settlement typically takes three to five business days, and limited operating hours across time zones can introduce further delays.

In addition to high costs and long processing times, traditional systems suffer from a lack of transparency. Both senders and receivers often have little visibility into where a transaction stands or how much will arrive after currency conversion. Exchange rate markups and intermediary bank deductions further erode the value in these traditional systems. These challenges highlight why the global financial system increasingly looks to modern blockchain-based infrastructure for solutions. 

Platforms like Fireblocks eliminate many of these friction points, enabling instant, secure, and cost-efficient cross-border settlements that operate 24/7, giving institutions and their customers greater control and clarity over global transactions.

Leading financial institutions and payment providers, such as Worldpay and Bloxcross, use Fireblocks’ secure infrastructure to power blockchain-based payment settlements. Through Fireblocks, they can move value globally in real time, improving liquidity, reducing operational friction, and delivering faster, more efficient payment experiences to their customers.

How Is Blockchain Technology Transforming Cross-Border Payments?

Blockchain technology is revolutionizing cross-border payments by replacing complex intermediary networks with direct, peer-to-peer value transfers between institutions. Unlike traditional systems that rely on multiple correspondent banks, blockchain enables funds to move securely and transparently across borders in minutes instead of days. Transactions are recorded on a shared ledger, allowing all parties to verify payments in real time. This reduces errors, fraud, and reconciliation costs. Since blockchain networks operate 24/7, payments can be processed instantly—regardless of time zones, weekends, or banking hours.

Infrastructure providers like Fireblocks are powering this transformation by giving payment companies, banks, and fintechs the enterprise-grade tools they need to build and scale blockchain-based payment solutions securely. Fireblocks’ platform combines institutional-grade security, compliance, and scalability with the efficiency of blockchain technology, enabling organizations to settle global transactions instantly while meeting regulatory and operational requirements.

What Role Do Stablecoins Play in Cross-Border Payments?

Stablecoins, such as USDC and USDT, are digital tokens most often pegged to the value of fiat currencies like the U.S. dollar. They combine the speed and transparency of blockchain with the price stability of traditional money, making them ideal instruments for global payments. Since they can be transferred instantly across blockchain networks, stablecoins eliminate the need for intermediaries, reduce foreign exchange costs, and enable real-time settlement across borders.

Today, stablecoins are increasingly being adopted by payment companies, fintechs, and enterprises to streamline merchant settlements and B2B payment flows. They allow organizations to move value globally in seconds, not days and without the friction of legacy banking rails. 

With over 300 banks and payments providers onboard, Fireblocks processes 10-15% of global stablecoin volume at more than 35 million transactions every month.

By leveraging Fireblocks’ enterprise-grade custody, compliance, and automation tools, institutions can confidently integrate stablecoins into their operations. This helps with achieving faster, lower-cost, and more transparent payments at scale.

Who Uses Cross-Border Payments?

Cross-border payments are used by a wide range of participants across the global economy. For example:

• B2B payments companies and PSPs 
  • Rely on them to pay international suppliers and vendors.
  • Settle with merchants 24/7/365 to provide faster circulation of funds and increase customer retention.
  • Automate digital asset treasury operations for greater efficiency and control.
• E-commerce merchants
  • Use cross border payments to accept payments from customers around the world.
  • Cross border payments enable e-commerce merchants to accept and receive crypto payments from shoppers.
• Remittance companies depend on cross-border transfers to support family members abroad.
  • Specifically with stablecoin remittance and payouts users can send in real-time, and at low cost.
  • Make internal settlements predictable and instant across borders to improve working capital and gain greater visibility.
• Gig economy platforms and global payroll providers use them to compensate international contractors and employees. 

All of these transactions form the financial backbone of international trade, digital commerce, and global workforce mobility.

Behind many of these use cases are payment service providers and financial institutions that use a blockchain infrastructure such as Fireblocks. By leveraging Fireblocks’ technology, these institutions can enable instant settlement, 24/7 operations, and global reach. This impacts small businesses to multinational enterprises as they move value seamlessly across borders in the onchain economy.

What Does Modern Cross-Border Payment Infrastructure Look Like?

Modern cross-border payment infrastructure is built on interconnected digital and blockchain-based systems. These enable value to move securely and instantly between institutions worldwide. It includes key components such as:

• Digital asset custody for securing funds
• On- and off-ramps to seamlessly convert between fiat and digital currencies
• Liquidity providers that facilitate real-time settlement
• Compliance layers that ensure adherence to global regulations such as travel rule, transaction screening, AML and KYC requirements. 

These elements are frequently combined with traditional payment systems, enabling institutions to connect blockchain innovation with the existing financial network.

Platforms like Fireblocks provide the infrastructure layer that connects companies and streamlines operations across 100+ blockchains and traditional financial networks. This unified infrastructure makes it possible for organizations to operate efficiently in both the fiat and digital economies.