Interconnect to stabilize: cross-border payments in a fragmenting world
Keynote speech by Fabio Panetta, Governor of the Bank of Italy and Chair of the Committee on Payments and Market Infrastructures (CPMI), in cooperation with the Institute of International Finance (IIF), at the Embassy of Italy to the United Kingdom, "Cross-border payments at a turning point", London, 5 May 2026.
Introduction
At the heart of every financial system lies its payments infrastructure, which enables money to move safely and efficiently between people, firms, and governments, at home and across borders.
But payments are far more than a technical utility. They are a critical enabler of the widespread acceptance of money and its effective use in practice.
Without a reliable payment system, money cannot fully perform its role as a means of payment – and trust in the financial system ultimately rests on that foundation. This is why payments sit at the intersection of monetary policy, financial stability and financial inclusion.
Cross-border payments remain the most glaringly unfinished business of financial modernization. Domestic payments have been transformed over the past two decades – faster, cheaper and available around the clock. Yet the moment a payment crosses a border, it often enters a world that still runs on slow rails, characterized by fragmented rules and high costs.
This is no longer just a test of financial efficiency. It is becoming a test of whether the global economy can remain connected in a world increasingly exposed to strategic rivalry.
Today, I will examine why this gap persists and chart a course towards faster, cheaper and more inclusive cross-border payments – one that can help jurisdictions navigate towards a more open and interoperable global system.