Cross-border payments are usually described in volumes, but the more revealing numbers are about structure. The network that moves money between countries has been thinning for a decade: the number of active correspondent banks worldwide fell by about 22% between 2011 and 2019, even as payment volumes rose. Fewer relationships now carry more traffic, and that concentration shapes cost, resilience and access.

Two directions of travel

Volumes keep growing. The number of institutions able to clear across borders keeps falling. The result is a system that is busier and, by some measures, more fragile. When a corridor depends on a small number of relationships, each lost link removes a route rather than simply slowing one.

Regional patterns differ. In Latin America, active correspondent relationships have fallen by roughly 30% since 2012. For smaller markets and thinner corridors, the effect is felt first.

The policy benchmark

The G20 set cross-border payment targets in 2021, mostly for end-2027: an average retail cost no higher than 1%, no corridor above 3%, and 75% of payments settled within an hour. They are deliberately measurable, and the trend is not flattering. The FSB's 2025 report shows limited progress; in 2025 around 35% of payments arrived within an hour.

Why the gap matters

That shortfall is not simply a failure of effort. It is a signal about architecture. Cost and speed targets assume a network capable of routing, netting and validating flows efficiently. Where relationships are sparse and bilateral, each payment is handled in isolation, and the overhead is paid every time. Meeting the targets therefore depends less on adding another rail and more on the connective layer between rails — a place where approved operations can be netted, routed and settled against a common set of rules.

In short

  • Active correspondent banks fell about 22% from 2011 to 2019 while volumes rose.
  • Latin America saw active relationships fall around 30% since 2012.
  • The G20 targets for end-2027 include ≤1% average retail cost and no corridor above 3%.
  • Around 35% of payments arrived within an hour in 2025.
  • Thinning networks, not rising volumes, explain much of the gap.

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