What would it take to make cross-border payments an enabler of SME growth?

Six years into the G20 Cross-Border Payments Roadmap, high costs, slow settlement, and complex compliance requirements continue to hold small businesses back. Meanwhile, agentic AI, stablecoins and real-time payment networks are opening new possibilities for paying across borders. In the face of tariffs and fragmentation of trade, improving payments offers governments a practical way to support trade through domestic action.

Drawing on From Friction to Flow 2.0, a new Nextrade Group study of 1,100 SME importers across Brazil, Indonesia, South Africa and Thailand and dozens of policies shaping crossborder payments around the world economies, this workshop will explore where reform can make the greatest difference. The report’s Cross-Border Payments Enablement Index benchmarks 34 economies across six policy pillars, providing a roadmap for reforms that enable businesses to trade more effectively.

Participants will work with the findings to identify priority barriers and develop actionable, country-specific reform roadmaps. The focus: turning evidence into practical steps to reduce friction, improve payment flows and unlock opportunities for SMEs.