Nearly half of Singapore businesses require enhanced Fintech solutions to offset current economic headwinds, Rapyd report shows

by James · March 22, 2023

41% of cross-border organizations globally believe that business expansion is essential to offset the challenges of inflation, high interest rates and market volatility.
76% of businesses pay $10+ transaction fees on cross-border payments, and 38% of businesses experience 5+ day B2B payment delays.
49% of businesses in Singapore experience 5 to 10 day delays in sending or receiving payments, and 14% experience 10 to 15 day delays.

LONDON, 22 March 2023–(BUSINESS WIRE)–41% of global organizations believe international business expansion is critical to easing their current trade challenges. In Singapore, 48% believe that better fintech solutions and faster settlements/payments can help solve these problems and are necessary to grow their business. That’s according to a new study released by global fintech-as-a-service partner Rapyd, which shows that a significant contingent of cross-border businesses are looking to double down on their growth ambitions as the best remedy for the economic headwinds they face, despite mixed level of business optimism.

This press release contains multimedia. See the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230322005316/en/

Source: Rapyd 2023 State of B2B Cross-Border Payments

Rapyds 2023 Status of B2B cross-border payments The report shows that businesses are divided in how they see the coming year. 43% expressed concern about the current business, compared to 57% who claimed not to be concerned. Half of global businesses cited inflation as their top concern, followed by rising interest rates (46%) and market volatility (35%). Cross-border trade issues such as currency fluctuations (32%) and import/export challenges (30%) also feature prominently on the list of key business issues, with 35% of businesses calling for better fintech solutions to improve transparency and the speed and cost of payments. In Singapore, the top two concerns cited are increase in interest rates (53%) and decrease in incoming work/business (43%).

Known payments challenge dampen growth ambitions

Rapyd surveyed financial decision makers in 715 medium to large cross-border businesses across seven global markets: Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, the UK and the US. According to respondents, speed, cost and efficiency continue to be the backbone of cross-border operations and expansion. Current cross-border payment shortfalls – especially high transaction fees and payment delays – inhibit growth by eroding revenue, damaging cash flow and making it more difficult for businesses to plan their finances.

The study found that 76% of businesses are burdened with excessive transaction fees of $10 or more on cross-border payments to suppliers, partners, distributors, employees and contractors, including 25% of businesses reporting typical cross-border transaction fees of $25-50 and 15% that claimed to pay fees of $50+ dollars.

Similarly, more than two in five (42%) cross-border businesses paid between 0.25% and 1% in foreign exchange (FX) fees when conducting cross-border transactions, while a further quarter of businesses paid even higher FX fees of between 1%-3% or more.

And businesses are no better off when it comes to payment speed. 38% of respondents experienced delays of five days or more when sending or receiving cross-border payments to other businesses, with businesses in Germany and Singapore reporting the longest delays. 49% of businesses in Singapore experience delays of between 5 and 10 days, while 14% face delays of 10 to 15 days.

Globally, companies recognize the need to revise older payment processes across national borders and see technology as crucial for this transition. 35% of financial decision makers believe that better fintech solutions will ease their current concerns, and more than 6 in 10 businesses (61%) have made digitizing payment systems a top priority, while another third have already automated their payment systems.

Garðar Stefánsson, general manager of Rapyd Collect, said:

“Our report shows companies around the world fighting hard against adversity. They are doing everything in their power to reach new markets and open up new revenue streams, but they are constantly being held back by the complexity and cost of doing business in other countries – losing huge sums and huge amounts of time spent on cross-border transactions. The larger their operations become, the more these costs increase. It’s an unacceptable situation at a time when so many advanced economies are struggling to grow.”

“Fintechs have a huge opportunity to help cross-border businesses with their expansion ambitions by providing faster and more cost-effective payment solutions, as well as creating innovative new approaches that simplify the way these systems work. Ultimately, no business should have to tackle the complexity of B2B payments alone when they need to grow – that’s why trusted fintech partners are critical. It’s time for fintech to step up and build bolder, better payment solutions that make cross-border commerce seamless and easy.”

Key Singapore Highlights:

When asked what specifically concerns their organization, the biggest concerns for Singapore companies are increase in interest rates (53%) and decrease in incoming work/business (43%).
When asked what would ease their concerns, Singapore companies cited better fintech solutions (48%) and faster settlements/payments (45%) as the best solutions to combat the negative effects of inflation, rising interest rates and increased volatility.
49% of Singapore businesses report payment delays of 5 to 10 days. 14% report delays between 10 and 15 days.
67% of businesses in Singapore cite the digitization of payments as a top priority, and 24% of businesses have already automated their payment systems.

Rapyds Status of B2B cross-border payments 2023 the report is available here.

Notes to editors:

Research methodology

Rapyd surveyed financial decision makers across 715 businesses in Brazil, Canada, Germany, Mexico, Singapore, the UK and the US online in February 2023. The survey was conducted among medium-sized (50-499 employees) and large (500 and above) companies operating in the B2B goods or services industry.

About Rapyd

Rapyd lets you build boldly. Unleash global commerce with all the tools your business needs to create payment, payout and fintech experiences everywhere. From Fortune 500s to ambitious business and technology upstarts, our payments network and powerful fintech platform make it easy to pay suppliers and get paid by customers – locally or internationally.

With offices around the world, including Tel Aviv, Dubai, London, Iceland, San Francisco, Miami and Singapore, we know what it takes to make cross-border trade as easy as being next door. Rapyd simplifies payments so you can focus on building your business.

Get the tools to grow globally at www.rapyd.net. Follow: Blog, Insta, LinkedIn, Twitter.

See the source version at businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20230322005316/en/

Contacts

Global media
Lizzie Ryan
Rapyd Global Communications Manager
[email protected]