On March 26, during the Boao Forum for Asia 2026 Annual Conference, a sub-forum with the theme of “Building a Diversified Cross-Border Payment System” attracted widespread attention.
Guests at the meeting had in-depth conversations on how to break through the bottlenecks of traditional cross-border payment models and find a balance between efficiency, cost and security through multiple technologies and regional cooperation.
An important consensus reached at this forum is that the real breakthrough lies not in the “single sprint” to pursue a certain indicator, but in building a diverse, symbiotic, and interconnected ecosystem.
Zhu Feng, chief economist of JPMorgan Chase China, bluntly stated when hosting the forum that cross-border payments have three goals, namely efficiency, cost reduction and security, but usually only two of them can be achieved, and it is extremely difficult to achieve all three goals together.
For a long time, cross-border payments have relied on the agency bank model. The chain is long, there are many intermediate links, and the settlement cycle is long. As a result, the user experience is far less convenient than domestic payments.
Faced with this problem, the guests at the meeting shared their explorations and practices from different perspectives.
Dong Junfeng, chairman of China UnionPay, vividly compared global trade to the “big rivers” of the world economy, while the payment and settlement system is “a river bed above the river, with still water flowing deep.”
He pointed out that the current century-old changes in the world are accelerating and the global cross-border payment system is undergoing a profound reshaping, showing a diversified development trend jointly promoted by new markets, new technologies, and new business formats.
Dong Junfeng also shared three new characteristics of the diversified cross-border payment system: First, the regional characteristics represented by “South-South Cooperation” have become increasingly prominent. Emerging markets such as Southeast Asia, South America, and Africa have cultivated local digital payment systems. The focus of cross-border payment reform is shifting from traditional developed markets to global southern markets.
Second, emerging technologies are closely integrated with cross-border payments, and central bank digital currencies, account-based networks, artificial intelligence, and blockchain technologies are accelerating their application. Third, the participation of new infrastructure and the pattern of extensive interconnection are becoming increasingly clear, and efficient docking of QR code payments, digital wallets, and existing payment networks is becoming a reality.
Zhou Xiaochuan, Vice Chairman of the 12th National Committee of the Chinese People’s Political Consultative Conference and former President of the People’s Bank of China, emphasized that the core of a good cross-border payment system lies in the word “system” rather than a single technology or performance.
He pointed out that in the development of diversification, there must be a certain degree of interconnection, that is, interoperability, otherwise users will feel confused and inconvenienced.
At the same time, when evaluating a diversified cross-border payment system, the indicators must be diverse and reflect “adaptability”, that is, the match between system performance and user needs. It must not only satisfy users, but also meet the requirements of macro-control and supervision.
Qiu Han, PayPal Senior Vice President and CEO of China, added his understanding of the “Impossible Triangle” from a business perspective.
She pointed out that payment services have been extended to end-to-end integrated solutions, involving installment payment, dispute handling, return arrangements and other scenarios.
She also emphasized that the complexity of compliance is often underestimated, that it is difficult for one solution to cover all countries, and that for cost issues, it is necessary to consider the items included in the price.
Based on the exploration of multiple paths, the guests further discussed how to condense scattered efforts into a sustainable ecosystem.
Many guests emphasized that diversification does not mean fragmentation, and connectivity and interoperability are the key.
When sharing his country’s experience, Surisa Thannoon, deputy governor of the Central Bank of Laos, pointed out that interoperability is an important principle for domestic and cross-border payments, and based on this, Laos has achieved leapfrog development in cross-border payments.
Zhou Xiaochuan pointed out that the current promotion of multilateral models in the payment field faces obstacles such as technical debates and market competition, but multilateralism can propose advanced and attractive “templates” and establish a system that is inclusive and capable of mutual conversion.
Dong Junfeng predicted in his speech that global cross-border payments are entering a new era of diversified symbiosis. UnionPay will uphold its original intention of paying for the people, build a comprehensive cooperation matrix with all parties in the industry, find the greatest common denominator in standard co-construction and interconnection, and jointly create a value community of interconnection and mutual trust.
