Cross-border payments are no longer as slow or opaque as their reputation suggests. But progress has been uneven. In this episode of Insights Podcast, Heather Lee, global head of payment strategy at Swift, Damian Richardson, head of payments, product and schemes at NatWest, and Michelle Cowan, cash market manager for the UK and Europe at Standard Chartered Bank, explore the evolving cross-border payments landscape. They discuss how initiatives like ISO 20022, GPI tracking, and instant payment schemes are improving speed and transparency, and why challenges around last-mile processing, regulatory fragmentation, and data quality continue to create friction. The conversation also looks ahead to how greater interoperability, richer data, and emerging digital models could help deliver faster, more predictable payments for consumers and businesses alike.
