The biggest change in payments was about making money move faster for many years. The next change could be about changing what money can do. Capgemini’s World Payments Report 2027 takes us to a new phase in the payments industry, where stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies are beginning to bring payments, settlement, liquidity management and business rules closer together.
The report calls this change “accelerated intelligent money”. However, adoption is still far from widespread. Only a small group of banks have moved beyond experimentation, and businesses are becoming increasingly willing to look beyond traditional banks for payment services. The report tell us that a growing gap between what banks are building and what corporate clients expect. Cross-border payments remain slow and expensive for businesses, large amounts of liquidity remain tied up across global accounts, and traditional banking revenue pools face growing pressure. Here are 10 findings that explain where the B2B payments industry stands today.
1. Only 21% of banks are scaling new forms of money
The payments industry is still in the early stages of adopting stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies.According to Capgemini’s Banking Executive Survey, only 21% of banks have moved beyond the pilot stage and are actively scaling at least one of these instruments. The remaining 79% are still evaluating, testing or observing the market. The banks moving ahead are not necessarily trying to adopt every new technology. Instead, they are focusing on specific corporate problems where new forms of money could make a measurable difference.
2. Corporates are becoming less satisfied with their banks
Banks say they have been investing in payment innovation, but their corporate customers do not appear to be seeing the same level of improvement. Around 60% of banks say they prioritised B2B payment innovation over the past three years. Yet only 32% of corporate clients say they are satisfied with their primary banking partner. For businesses, faster payments are only one part of the problem. They also want better visibility into transactions, predictable settlement, stronger liquidity management and easier reconciliation.
(Image: Ai generated)
3. Nearly 60% of corporates are willing to use non-bank providers
Corporates are increasingly open to getting new payment services from companies outside the traditional banking system. Almost 60% of respondents say they would consider sourcing stablecoin services from non-bank providers if their banks cannot keep pace. Non-banks already have a significant presence in B2B payments.
About 36% of B2B payment volume currently flows through non-bank providers. For banks, this creates a new competitive challenge. They are no longer competing only with other banks. Fintech companies and other payment providers are also targeting parts of the corporate payments value chain.
4. Global payment volumes could nearly double by 2030
The growth story is not limited to business payments. Capgemini’s figures cover B2B and B2C payments together. Non-cash transaction volumes have increased almost fivefold over the past decade. The report expects combined B2B and B2C payment volumes to rise from around 2,250 billion transactions in 2025 to about 4,000 billion by 2030. Asia-Pacific remains the fastest-growing region. Consumer payment systems such as India’s UPI, Singapore’s PayNow and Thailand’s PromptPay are helping drive this growth.
Latin America is also expanding rapidly, supported by systems such as Brazil’s Pix and Mexico’s CoDi. Europe is seeing growth through SEPA and instant payment regulations, while North America is being supported by systems such as RTP and FedNow. Much of this growth is coming from consumer-facing payment systems. The more complicated question is how quickly similar innovation can transform corporate payments.
5. Consumer payments have already changed. B2B is next
Consumers have already experienced a major shift in how they pay. Mobile apps, digital wallets and real-time payment systems have changed expectations around speed and convenience. Cards accounted for 65% of combined B2B and B2C payment volume in 2020. Capgemini expects that share to fall to 50% in 2025 and 44% by 2030. Checks are also disappearing. Their share is expected to fall from 2% in 2020 to almost zero by 2030. Instant payments and e-money are moving in the opposite direction.
Their combined share is projected to rise from 13% in 2020 to 26% in 2025 and 32% by 2030. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies remain a much smaller part of the picture. Capgemini expects them to account for around 4% of combined payment volume by 2030. The bigger message is about timing. Consumers have already gone through much of the digital payments transition. Corporate payments are now facing the same pressure.
6. A corporate cross-border payment still takes about 3.5 days
The global payments network can move money much faster than many businesses experience. Swift data shows that 90% of cross-border payments reach the recipient bank within an hour. For corporates, however, the complete payment journey can take around 3.5 days. About 2.2 days are spent on origination and transfer. Another 1.3 days can be taken up by confirmation and reconciliation. The complexity of global business adds to the problem.
A typical large corporate operates across 14 markets and maintains relationships with 11 banks. Around 74% of corporates describe cross-border payments as slow, costly and unpredictable. The biggest delays often happen after the payment has entered the network. Compliance checks, internal approvals and reconciliation can add days to the process.
7. Around $4 trillion is tied up in cross-border accounts
Cross-border payments require banks to maintain liquidity across different currencies and markets. Capgemini estimates that around $4 trillion is tied up globally in nostro and vostro accounts used to support cross-border settlement. This money is effectively sitting in place to make international payments possible. It therefore has limited opportunities to generate returns elsewhere. There is another cost hidden in the process.
Around 13% of cross-border B2B transactions require manual exception handling because of issues such as returns, delays or duplicate payments. As payment volumes increase, these manual processes can become an increasingly expensive burden.
8. About $230 billion in bank revenue is at risk
The transformation of payments is also a revenue story. Capgemini estimates that around $230 billion in traditional payment-related revenue is exposed. This represents roughly 10% of total payments revenue and includes foreign exchange spreads, correspondent banking fees, float income and transaction processing fees.
New payment instruments could put pressure on these traditional sources of income. The banks moving fastest expect to replace this lost revenue more quickly. Leading banks expect to offset the decline in around 15 months, compared with 25 months for mainstream competitors.
9. Leading banks are changing how they charge customers
The new payments model could also change the way banks price their services. Study shows that 66% of leading banks are likely to use bundled value-added services, compared with 46% of mainstream banks. There is an even bigger difference when it comes to outcome-based pricing. Around 41% of leading banks are willing to link pricing to outcomes such as cost savings or working capital improvements.
Only 12% of mainstream banks plan to do the same. Mainstream banks remain more dependent on traditional flat, transaction-based fees. This difference matters because it changes what customers are paying for. Instead of paying simply for a transaction, businesses could increasingly pay for the financial outcome that the service delivers. Leading banks are 3.1 times more likely to have already identified new revenue streams linked to intelligent money.
10. Banks are taking three different approaches to the future
Capgemini identifies three broad strategies for banks entering the new payments environment. Reactive banks rely mainly on third-party capabilities and make limited investments of their own. Offensive banks invest selectively in specific markets, payment corridors or customer segments where they believe they can build an advantage. Transformative banks go further by building the infrastructure, technology and standards that could support a wider payments ecosystem.
Among the leaders identified by Capgemini, none plan to remain reactive. Around 67% plan to take an offensive approach, while 33% intend to pursue a transformative strategy. The mainstream group looks different. About 40% still expect to remain reactive. The distinction points to a larger change in the payments business.
Competition may increasingly be about who can manage liquidity, execution, data and trust across the entire payment journey, rather than who can simply process a transaction. The payments industry has changed before. Paper money created one set of institutions and processes. Electronic payments created another, with banks and payment networks becoming central to the movement of money.
Capgemini sees intelligent money as the next stage. Stablecoins, tokenized deposits and central bank digital currencies are still developing, and their eventual role in everyday business payments remains uncertain. The report makes one thing clear, though. Banks are no longer looking at payments simply as a way to move money from one account to another.
The emerging model combines payment, settlement, liquidity and business rules more closely than before. This could mean new technology, new partnerships and new sources of revenue. For corporates, it could mean faster settlement, better visibility and less money locked away simply to keep cross-border payments moving. The race is therefore not only about who adopts a new form of money first. It is about who can turn that technology into a better way of doing business.