Cross-Border Payments Now Compete on Success, Not Price

Neema’s own data indicates that success rates vary significantly between providers

The G20 has set targets for faster, cheaper and more reliable cross-border payments, but official progress reports show that most retail payments still fall well short of the speed goals. Moshe Kimhi, CEO and founder of Neema, argues that as pricing between providers converges, the question of whether a payment actually arrives, and how quickly, is becoming the key differentiator in the market. He made these remarks during a recent industry discussion on payment innovation. Pricing parity among cross-border payment providers has shifted the focus from cost to reliability and speed. Kimhi explains that when fees are similar across services, businesses and consumers prioritize whether funds reach their destination without delay or failure. This shift reflects broader industry trends where transaction success is now a core metric for evaluating payment solutions.

Neema’s own data indicates that success rates vary significantly between providers, even when prices are nearly identical. Why Success Rates Are Becoming the New Battleground Kimhi points out that failed payments create hidden costs beyond fees, including operational delays, customer dissatisfaction, and reconciliation efforts. He notes that some providers achieve success rates above 98%, while others fall below 90%, despite comparable pricing. This gap, he says, is often due to differences in banking partnerships, compliance protocols, and real-time tracking capabilities. The ability to guarantee delivery, he argues, is now a stronger competitive advantage than marginal price differences. How Can Providers Improve Payment Reliability? According to Kimhi, improving success rates requires investment in local payment rails, smarter routing technology, and stronger relationships with destination banks. He emphasizes that transparency about expected delivery times and failure reasons helps build trust with users.

Providers that offer real-time status updates and automated retry mechanisms see higher completion rates. Kimhi also suggests that industry-wide standards for payment confirmation could further raise the bar for reliability across the sector. Frequently Asked Questions What does Moshe Kimhi mean by pricing convergence in cross-border payments? He means that the cost differences between various cross-border payment providers have become minimal, making price less of a deciding factor for users. Why are success rates now more important than price in cross-border payments? Because when prices are similar, users care more about whether the payment arrives on time and without failure, which affects business operations and customer experience. What factors influence the success rate of a cross-border payment? Success rates depend on banking relationships, compliance checks, routing technology, and the provider’s ability to handle local payment networks and retry failed transactions.