Nium Research: 65% of Businesses Demand Instant Cross-Border Payments as Bank Gap Widens

New research from Nium and Celent reveals a stark disconnect between the speed businesses demand for cross-border payments and the reality provided by traditional banks. With 65% of corporates now expecting near-instant settlement, the findings suggest a significant competitive opening for non-bank providers as traditional lenders struggle to meet modern expectations for transparency and certainty.

What was announced

The study, titled "The Value of Certainty in Uncertain Times," surveyed 210 businesses and 210 banks across 17 global markets to assess the shifting landscape of international money movement. The research highlights a "perception gap" regarding speed: while 65% of businesses want payments completed within minutes, only 29% of banks believe their clients actually require that level of velocity. Currently, only 18% of businesses report receiving instant or near-instant service from their banking partners.

This lag is driving a shift toward alternative providers. According to the data, 64% of businesses now utilize at least one non-bank method for outgoing international transfers, with non-bank channels accounting for more than 15% of total surveyed cross-border volume. Despite this, 69% of businesses still believe bank networks are essential but must evolve, while 49% expect their reliance on traditional banks to decrease in the coming years.

The research also quantified the cost of friction. Failed payments cost the average surveyed business $108,823 annually, leading to vendor dissatisfaction (34%) and supply chain disruptions (28%). Geographically, the demand for speed is highest in Asia-Pacific, where 73% of businesses want instant payments but only 10% currently receive them. In the Middle East, 65% of banks are looking toward stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and Central Bank Digital Currencies (CBDCs) to bridge these coverage gaps. In North America, 78% of U.S. businesses indicated that additional bank services would foster loyalty, significantly higher than the 58% global average.

"The future of money movement isn't going to be defined by banks or non-bank providers alone," said Anupam Pahuja, Chief Business Officer at Nium. "Businesses increasingly have different ways to move money depending on what they need. The challenge now is making those options work together without adding more complexity, while giving businesses the choice, speed, and certainty they expect."

Anupam Pahuja at Nium.

The companies involved

Nium is a global infrastructure platform for real-time money movement. The company provides businesses with access to a global payments network, enabling them to pay out in more than 100 currencies and receive funds in 35. Its infrastructure is designed to bypass the traditional complexities of correspondent banking, offering a more direct route for cross-border transactions. Nium has established itself as a key player in the fintech ecosystem, focusing on bridging the gap between legacy financial systems and modern digital requirements.

Celent is a leading research and advisory firm focused on financial services technology. A member of the Oliver Wyman Group, Celent provides analysis and advice to financial institutions looking to navigate digital transformation. The firm is frequently cited for its "Luminary" ratings and vendor assessments across banking, insurance, and wealth management sectors. The 17 markets covered in this specific collaboration include the United States, Canada, Brazil, Mexico, Colombia, the United Kingdom, France, Germany, Italy, Spain, Indonesia, Malaysia, Thailand, Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Qatar, and the United Arab Emirates.

What FF News has reported before

FF News has closely followed the expansion of real-time payment networks and the evolving role of research in the sector. In late 2025, we covered how Nium and Emirates NBD Expand Real-Time Cross-Border Payments Across the Middle East, a move that aligns with the current report’s findings on the region's appetite for advanced payment technology. We have also tracked Celent’s influence in the broader financial technology space, such as when Duck Creek Claims Secures Top "Luminary" Rating in Celent 2026 P&C Insurance Report. Our previous coverage of the industry has frequently highlighted the growing importance of customer experience, as seen in our analysis of Why Insurance Digital Payments Are Now the Ultimate Driver of Customer Loyalty, which mirrors the loyalty trends identified in Nium's latest research.

What this means

The industry is witnessing a critical pivot where "ease of payment" has overtaken "total cost" as the primary driver for corporate decision-making. This suggests that the cross-border market is no longer just a price war; it is a race for integration and reliability. Banks that remain oblivious to the 47% gap between their perceived performance and client expectations are under immediate pressure. The rise of non-bank methods to 15% of volume is not a peripheral trend but a fundamental shift in the market's plumbing. For the sector, the open question is whether traditional banks will successfully partner with infrastructure platforms to close this gap, or if they will eventually be relegated to background liquidity providers while fintechs own the corporate relationship.