For low-value overseas funds transfers, two factors were most valued by the two groups of respondents in an international survey.

In an online survey Dec 2022 surveyed of 4,205 consumers and 2,720 representatives of small- and medium- sized enterprises in Australia, China, Germany, India, Saudi Arabia, South Africa, the UK and the US on e-payment trends, security and transparency were voted the most important factors when respondents sent money internationally.  

Security was named as the key driver in the selection of a payments provider by both consumers and SMEs, closely followed by trust (for consumers) and transparency of fees (for SMEs).

Transparency was deemed “very important” to both groups; around 70% of consumers and SMEs in the survey indicated they would not use a payment provider again if they experienced hidden fees. Among both groups, hidden fees evoked a stronger reaction than a payment not arriving at all.

Other findings

Some 87% of SME respondents and 81% of consumer respondents indicated they looked to banks first when making an international payment. Also:

    • 75% of respondents indicated they would consider using a different provider if the latter matched the offer of a bank, fintech or other provider.
    • 79% of consumer respondents and 76% of SME respondents indicated they expected an international payment to be completed within one hour or less. 24% of consumer respondents and 15% of SME respondents indicated they expected payments to be instant.
    • Notable variations in responses were noted from consumer respondents from different countries. Those of Saudi Arabia and Australia were more concerned with the impact of foreign exchange conversions in international payments than those in other countries.
    • SME respondents from Germany placed particular importance on the integration of payment processes into other tools, such as accounting software.

According to Thierry Chilosi, Chief Strategy Officer, Swift, which commissioned the survey: “Low-value cross-border payments have very real, everyday implications for people around the world… there is a real opportunity for financial institutions to offer compelling solutions that combine simple and transparent digital front-end experiences with secure, reliable, and fast back-end processing.”