The global business-to-business (B2B) payments market is projected to grow from USD 97.88 trillion in 2025 to USD 213.28 trillion by 2032. With such an enormous market size, businesses are bound to deal with buyers and suppliers from across the globe. This means payments must move across different countries, currencies and banking systems, making cross-border transactions a critical and technically complex part of global commerce.
What are B2B Cross-Border Payments?
Cross-border payments are financial transactions where the payer and the recipient are located in different countries. These can occur between individuals, businesses, or financial institutions and typically involve currency exchange, international banking networks and regulatory compliance.
In a B2B context, cross-border payments happen when a business pays a foreign supplier, contractor or partner. For example, a U.S.-based company purchasing raw materials from a manufacturer in Germany would need to make a cross-border payment.
Compared to consumer cross-border transactions, B2B cross-border transactions come with significantly more complexity and risk. In the B2B world, transactions typically involve much higher payment volumes and multiple parties, which increases exposure to financial crime, fraud and cyberattacks. In addition, businesses must navigate a web of international banking standards, tax laws, foreign exchange requirements and anti-money laundering (AML) regulations – all of which vary by country and jurisdiction. Ensuring compliance across these multiple touchpoints is not only resource-intensive but also essential to avoid penalties and maintain trust between global partners. These factors make B2B cross-border payments far more intricate than consumer-level transactions.
Let’s take a deeper dive into some of the main challenges:
- Slow Processing Time: Cross-border B2B payments can take several days to settle, even after the payment is initiated. In fact, in some cases, U.S. firms average a 33-day cycle as reported by PYMNTS. Delays are often caused by time zone differences, currency conversions, intermediary banks and manual processing steps. Compliance checks related to anti-money laundering (AML) or sanctions screening can also slow things down. When multiple financial institutions are involved, especially if they’re in different jurisdictions, the process becomes even more fragmented and harder to track. These delays can lead to cash flow issues for suppliers and strain business relationships when payments don't arrive on time.
- High Transaction Fees: Cross-border B2B payments often come with a range of hidden costs that can add up quickly. These include intermediary bank fees, currency conversion markups, and processing charges, all of which reduce the final amount received by the supplier. For buyers, these fees can make international payments significantly more expensive than domestic ones, while for suppliers, they can erode profit margins and complicate cash flow forecasting. The lack of transparency in fee structures across different payment channels only adds to the challenge.
- Currency Fluctuation / Foreign Exchange (FX) Risk: Exchange rates can vary rapidly, making it difficult for businesses to determine the final amount due in a cross-border transaction. FX risk is the potential for monetary loss resulting from these fluctuations, which can erode profits, increase costs, or disrupt cash flow planning.
- Security Risks and Fraud: B2B cross-border transactions typically involve larger sums, making them attractive targets for fraudsters. The involvement of multiple intermediaries such as banks, payment processors, and clearing houses, creates several points of vulnerability where attackers can intercept or manipulate payments. These risks are compounded by evolving cyber threats and fraudulent practices, such as business email compromise or invoice fraud.
- Regulatory Complexity and Compliance Risks: Every country has its own regulatory framework for international transactions. B2B cross-border payments must adhere to numerous regulations related to transaction limits, AML, Know Your Customer (KYC), Counter-Terrorism Financing (CTF) and sanctions clearance. Non-compliance not only exposes a company to legal penalties but can also cause delays and further complicate payment processing.
"International payments can be expensive due to high processing fees, currency exchange rates and additional charges imposed by financial institutions. However, becoming savvy and knowing how to navigate these different payment methods is crucial to help you get ahead.
While some suppliers may hesitate to accept cards due to perceived fees, solutions that create a win-win scenario that offers pricing flexibility that benefits both parties are optimal. This is why selecting the right partner to facilitate cross-border payments is mission-critical."
-Dean M. Leavitt, Founder and CEO
B2B Cross-Border Payment Methods:
Businesses have several options when it comes to sending and receiving cross-border payments, each with its own advantages, costs, and operational considerations. The choice of payment method often depends on factors like transaction size, destination country, currency exchange requirements, speed, and the level of transparency or documentation needed. Below are some of the most commonly used cross-border payment methods in B2B transactions:
1. Bank Transfer (via Correspondent Banking)
What is it:
A bank transfer moves funds directly from one business bank account to another. For international payments, this often relies on the correspondent banking network, where one or more intermediary banks help route the payment between banks that don’t have a direct relationship.
How it works:
Your bank sends payment instructions to one or more intermediary banks, which then forward the funds to the recipient's bank.
Pros:
- Widely used and accepted globally
- Suitable for high-value B2B payments
- Familiar process for most finance teams
Cons:
- Can take 2-5 business days or more
- Each intermediary bank may deduct a fee, adding to the cost
- Limited payment visibility (status and tracking can be unclear)
- Often lacks remittance details, making reconciliation harder for suppliers
2. Wire Transfer
What it is:
A wire transfer is a more direct and formal type of electronic payment, often used for one-off or urgent B2B payments. It’s typically processed individually rather than in batches, which makes it faster—but also more expensive.
How it works:
Initiated through a bank, wire transfers send payment instructions directly to the recipient’s bank (sometimes still via intermediaries), settling the funds on a per-transaction basis.
Pros:
- Faster than traditional bank transfers (same-day or next-day in some cases)
- Secure and traceable
- Good for large payments or time-sensitive transactions
Cons:
- Higher fees than other methods (can range from $20–$50+ per transaction)
- Currency conversion costs may apply
- Prone to manual entry errors, especially if details are mistyped
- Typically lacks structured remittance data, requiring manual reconciliation
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3. Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT)
What it is:
EFT is a catch-all term for electronic payments between bank accounts. In a domestic setting, this includes methods like ACH (U.S.), SEPA (EU), direct deposit, e-checks, and debit transactions. Cross-border EFTs exist but are not standardized globally, which limits their use in international B2B payments.
How it works:
Funds are moved electronically between accounts, often in batch processing, which reduces cost. However, cross-border EFTs may require additional infrastructure or bank partnerships to work effectively.
Pros:
- Low-cost (especially ACH and SEPA)
- Ideal for recurring or bulk payments
- Minimizes human error when automated
- Can integrate with accounting systems (domestically)
Cons:
- Often limited by country-specific systems (e.g., ACH can’t directly talk to SEPA)
- May cap transaction size, unsuitable for large B2B invoices
- Slower settlement times internationally
- Often lacks detailed remittance data and compliance controls for global tax/regulatory needs
4. Commercial Cards (Corporate & Virtual Cards)
What it is:
Commercial cards, including corporate cards, purchasing cards (P-Cards) and virtual cards, are issued to businesses for operational spend including supplier payments. For cross-border B2B payments, they offer a fast and data-rich alternative to traditional banking rails. These payments are processed over global card networks like Visa, Mastercard and American Express.
How it works:
The buyer uses a commercial card to pay a supplier. The supplier must be set up to accept card payments. The card network processes the payment, and funds are settled often faster than wire or bank transfer methods. Virtual cards are often issued for one-time or recurring payments and can be customized with controls.
Pros:
- Fast settlement (typically 1–2 days)
- Detailed transaction data helps with reconciliation and reporting
- Enables extended payment terms for buyers (float)
- Buyers can earn rebates and loyalty rewards
- Virtual cards reduce fraud risk through custom controls, expiration dates and spend limits
Cons:
- Not all suppliers accept cards, especially internationally
- Suppliers may face high acceptance fees (often 2–3%+)
- Currency conversion costs may apply
- Cards are traditionally less flexible for complex B2B scenarios unless paired with a specialized solution
The Solution:
While commercial cards offer speed, visibility, and valuable financial benefits, they have traditionally faced barriers in the cross-border B2B space, particularly around supplier acceptance, high processing fees, and limited flexibility. Boost 100XB® was developed to solve these challenges by enabling businesses to use their existing U.S.-issued commercial card programs to pay global suppliers, regardless of how those suppliers prefer to get paid. The solution initiates the transaction on the card rails and then settles it using the supplier’s preferred payment method and currency.
This approach expands card acceptance, reduces friction, and lowers supplier acceptance costs compared to traditional card processing. Boost 100 XB also provides detailed remittance data for easier reconciliation and ensures secure, compliant, and cost-efficient global payments. For buyers, it unlocks the ability to pay 100 percent of their suppliers by card, maximizing rebate potential, supporting early payment discount opportunities, and extending Days Payable Outstanding (DPO), all while improving relationships with global suppliers.