Saxo Payments Survey: Only 38% of payments-related business think they get competitive FX rates

Saxo Payments, a subsidiary that Saxo Bank established in 2013, today made available a white paper, entitled “Cross Border B2B Payments – Today’s landscape; Tomorrow’s opportunity”.

The document states that 63% of payments-related businesses are dissatisfied with the speed of cross border payments, and only 38% believe they get a competitive FX rate.

The paper is based on a survey of issuers, acquirers and PSPs as well as merchants and covers issues such as speed of money transfer, fees for international payments, and FX rates.

The survey shows that 63% of the respondents are not satisfied with how long international transfers take to arrive in the recipient’s account, and just 38% believe they get a competitive FX rate for cross border payments with their current provider. At the same time, a third of respondents have not examined other options – the lack of time for research mentioned as the most common reason.

Anders la Cour, Chief Executive Officer of Saxo Payments, comments,

“With international trade increasing rapidly, payments processes need to keep up to ensure they do not hold businesses back from their full potential. Traditional cross border bank transfers are no longer the only solution, but we wanted to know if companies are aware of the alternatives or simply sleepwalking through the process, paying high fees for poor foreign exchange rates and slow transfers.

“Our exclusive research reveals that companies are too embroiled in day to day tasks, providing customers with a good service. This is making it hard for them to see – or make the time to find out about – the bigger picture, to realise they could get a better payments service. This could be a mistake for many businesses, as there are big savings to be made by switching provider, or indeed using a number of suppliers to provide the best possible solution to meet the individual requirements of the company.”

Majority of the respondents say they are willing to switch provider if they could see the benefits. 79.4% said that if they found a solution which cost less, they would change payment provider, and 63% said that a service providing faster transactions would push them to make the move.

Anders la Cour adds,

“The most exciting part, for us, is the high proportion of respondents who recognise the opportunities of newer and lesser-known providers, and would be willing to employ one if it meant a better and cheaper service. Again, the reason they have not yet made that move is the lack of time to research alternatives, rather than a lack of alternatives. Just 27% were even aware of any new entrants in the market, showing just how time-poor businesses are when it comes to researching the payments process options.

“It is time for businesses to reassess their priorities, to see just how much they could benefit from streamlining their payments process to ensure it performs better for them. Predictions show that global trade flows could reach up to $85 trillion by 2025, tripling the current scale. With this in mind, the 3% fee many businesses are paying for international transfers could equate to $2.55 trillion in profit wasted by companies around the world – not a figure many can afford to ignore.”

You can view the full announcement from Saxo Payments by clicking here.

Read Also: