BIS study compares costs of cross-border payments via banks, fintechs, and stablecoins

A new BIS paper finds that fintech money transfer operators substantially reduce cross-border costs compared to traditional bank wires, with fees declining as transfer size increases. However, stablecoin transfers remain costly due to reliance on crypto exchanges and fiat conversion fees, and liquidity is thin for non-US dollar pairs. While stablecoins offer better FX pricing for some routes, this advantage stems from capital controls rather than technological superiority.