Transforming cross-border B2B payments with crypto infrastructure

Meryem Habibi, CRO of Bitpace, explores how crypto infrastructure is revolutionising cross-border B2B payments, addressing key opportunities, challenges, and trends shaping the landscape for 2025.

In an increasingly globalised world, B2B cross-border payments are vital to international trade, with the industry set to be worth an astonishing USD 56 trillion by 2030. The likes of Visa and Mastercard are eager to work with smaller, regional banks to meet the growing demand for cross-border solutions. Whether it’s mobile-first global remittances or international trade platforms for SMEs, the scope for innovation expands, consistently.

Yet the core infrastructure supporting cross-border payments is struggling to keep up with rising standards around settlement time and transparency concerns. Traditional banking systems have been the backbone of international payments, handling 92% of global B2B cross-border payment flows that occurred in 2023. Currently, banks and corresponding payment networks rely on outdated SWIFT systems that are opaque and require multiple intermediaries. Moving money across borders has thus been extremely cumbersome and expensive. SMEs, in particular, face significant hurdles in executing transactions that often take days to settle.

Nearly half of Citibank’s corporate clients identified high costs as a major pain point. 59% cited slow speeds as an issue. In 2023, US ecommerce firms experienced an 11% failure rate in cross–border transactions, resulting in USD 3.8 billion in lost sales. With one-third of all ecommerce spending predicted to be international by 2028, it’s crucial that effective solutions are implemented.

Thankfully, crypto and blockchain technology are emerging as promising solutions to reshape the landscape. Blockchain’s peer-to-peer mechanics reduces the amount of involvement from intermediaries, allowing businesses to settle payments directly with lower transaction fees.

Crypto settles international transactions, which usually take days, in minutes or seconds. This is especially valuable in fast-paced industries, such as manufacturing, financial services, and commodity trading, where liquidity and capital management are critical to the overall flow of global ecosystems. These advantages are becoming clear to businesses.

Deloitte’s 2023 study found that 93% of global merchants who accept crypto report positive impacts on customer metrics.

It is important, however, to be cautious of feeding a narrative by which the future of global payments is one in which traditional finance and crypto are pitted against each other. It’s very easy to look at unfavourable statistics that show high levels of fraudulent activity and risk-management failures in traditional finance. But similar patterns can be found in blockchain ecosystems. Too much energy and focus placed on disruption could stifle much needed collaboration.

Blockchain and crypto offer undeniable advantages, but their potential can be maximised when paired with the established infrastructure, regulatory frameworks, and expertise of traditional finance. Businesses and consumers will benefit most from the best of both systems being integrated into the cross-border landscape.

Blockchain’s increased transparency can help banks and other traditional institutions traceability within existing payment networks, whilst enabling international payments to be made at any time. Banks, leveraging their customer bases and regulatory expertise, can help ensure that these cross-border solutions are adopted responsibly and equitably. By working together, financial institutions and crypto providers can expand access to international markets for businesses and individuals previously excluded from the global economy without compromising established levels of trust.

Regulatory uncertainty remains a primary challenge to blockchain's ability to transform cross-border payments. The fragmented regulatory environment is causing much of the complexity involved in transactions. Businesses face a patchwork of rules on anti-money laundering (AML), know your customer (KYC), and tax reporting. As regulation evolves, crypto payment systems must be simplified so enterprises can adopt them confidently.

Governmental effort to protect the space from illicit activity is, however, a positive. It’s important to acknowledge that strong progress is being made. Regions such as Latin America and MENA are making good strides in staying apace with MiCA, which comes into full effect in Europe in 2025. Stablecoins in particular are emerging as a key solution for establishing more seamless payment experiences across the global landscape.

The bottom line is that coherence is needed. A universal framework for using cryptocurrencies in cross-border payments can eradicate barriers to adoption. Until then, businesses will continue to hesitate.

Progress made in 2025 will be pivotal to shaping the future of the cross-border B2B landscape. The enhanced use of stablecoins can ease concerns around crypto’s inherent volatility. Pegged to reserve assets like the US Dollar, they can play a dominant role in stabilising the ecosystem. Businesses will be able to bypass the speculative performance of native tokens such as Bitcoin. Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) also help to modernise traditional payment systems. With more governments set to introduce their own CBDCs next year, new opportunities will arise for businesses to transact on the blockchain.

Improved blockchain interoperability also has huge potential to transform cross-border transactions. Greater connection between isolated blockchains can establish more interoperable payment rails. As cross-chain bridges evolve, so will the options for businesses to execute quick and easy crypto transactions.

Hybrid solutions such as JPMorgan’s JPM Coin, and the Bank for International Settlements’ (BIS) Project Agorá will continue to evolve. Behind these advances is the recognition that crypto payment gateways act as an efficient bridge for businesses that aren't ready to fully embrace a crypto-native solutions. Middle-ground solutions will remain favourable for companies wanting to introduce blockchain solutions without adopting all of the risk.

It’s important to note that Bitcoin’s recent post-election surge doesn’t just encourage celebration amidst maximalists and those eager for profit. It also triggers more radical change. As the US’ sovereign debt crisis teeters toward tipping point, many can see that it’s only a matter of time before crypto has to save the day.

This is reassuring for the cross-border B2B payments space. Companies who linger on the edge of transformation will receive more competent solutions as time unfolds. It’s important that they navigate the landscape with caution, but not with negligence.

Merchants can prosper from taking the calculated risk of onboarding crypto offerings for their clients. As the next year determines a new outlook for both company and customer, all must play their part in embracing opportunities that are only set to flourish.

About Meryem Habibi

Meryem has worked with industry giants such as Samsung and Diebold Nixdorf, collaborating at the board level on strategy development, revenue stream diversification, risk management, and unlocking growth opportunities in emerging markets. Meryem is passionate about delivering seamless, user-friendly products to an increasingly progressive and groundbreaking payments industry. With her dedication and experience, she plays a pivotal role in driving Bitpace toward its goals of innovation and success.

About Bitpace

Bitpace provides innovative user-friendly solutions to businesses that want to accept crypto from their customers but aren’t prepared to manage the volatility or liquidity. Founded in 2016, Bitpace has evolved into one of the most secure and reliable cryptocurrency payment gateway platforms, providing a diverse range of fast, reliable, and secure solutions. Bitpace aims to enable businesses to handle global settlements seamlessly and responsibly.