17.07.2025
For years, payment providers have sold the dream of global reach—one integration, seamless access to customers worldwide. But in 2025, more merchants are waking up to a different reality: cross-border fees are quietly eroding their margins and testing their loyalty to their PSPs.
The Complex Nature of Cross-Border Fees
Cross-border fees come in many forms and often appear layered. They can include currency conversion margins, additional fees charged by international acquirers, charges from intermediary banks, and sometimes hidden reconciliation costs. Because these fees can be embedded at multiple stages of the transaction, the total cost isn’t always clear to merchants at the time of payment.
For merchants, this lack of transparency can lead to unexpected deductions from their payouts and difficulties in forecasting true profit margins. This challenge grows when merchants operate across multiple markets with differing currencies and banking infrastructures, making it harder to untangle where fees are applied and how they accumulate.
Why Cross-Border Fees Undermine Merchant Loyalty
Merchants today expect more than just transactional functionality—they want clarity, predictability, and fairness from their payment partners. When cross-border fees are unclear or inconsistent, merchants may begin to question the value they’re receiving.
Unexpected fees can disrupt cash flow planning, increase administrative burdens due to complex reconciliation, and ultimately cut into revenue that could be reinvested in growth. Over time, these issues can impact merchants’ trust and push them to seek alternative PSPs that offer more transparent and cost-effective solutions.
This shift isn’t just about price—it’s about confidence. Merchants want to partner with providers who understand their global ambitions but also offer infrastructure tailored to minimize hidden costs.
How Leading PSPs Are Addressing Cross-Border Fee Challenges
In response to merchant demands, many PSPs are evolving their models to prioritize transparency and regional adaptability. Some are introducing clearer fee disclosures and enhanced reporting tools that help merchants see exactly how each payment is processed and what fees are applied.
Others are focusing on smarter payment routing—leveraging local acquiring banks and minimizing unnecessary currency conversions. This approach can significantly reduce costs by avoiding multiple cross-border hops.
For instance, platforms like COLIBRIX enable merchants to access acquiring in multiple local markets, allowing payments to be processed closer to the consumer and settled in preferred currencies. This reduces exposure to cross-border fees, improves settlement speed, and builds merchant confidence.
The Growing Demand for Localized Payment Solutions
Merchants increasingly expect payment infrastructure that reflects the local nuances of each market. This means not only supporting popular local payment methods but also ensuring settlement can happen locally where possible, reducing reliance on international intermediaries.
Localized acquiring and multi-currency settlement help merchants avoid common pitfalls associated with cross-border payments, including unfavorable exchange rates and hidden fees. As a result, merchants can offer smoother experiences to their customers while keeping their own operational costs under control.
What Merchants Should Consider When Evaluating PSPs
When selecting or reviewing payment partners, merchants should look beyond surface-level capabilities and ask critical questions about cross-border fee management, such as:
- How transparent is the fee structure?
- Are local acquiring and settlement options available?
- What tools exist to help monitor and reconcile fees?
- How does the PSP optimize payment routing to reduce unnecessary cross-border flows?
- How flexible is the PSP in supporting multiple currencies?
Asking these questions can help merchants find partners that align with their global growth strategy without sacrificing profitability.
Looking Forward: Transparency as a Competitive Edge
Cross-border fees will continue to be part of the payments landscape as global commerce grows. However, merchants now have higher expectations regarding how those fees are communicated and managed.
For PSPs, the ability to deliver transparent, cost-effective payment solutions tailored to local markets isn’t just an operational improvement—it’s a crucial factor in building lasting merchant relationships. When merchants can trust the fee structures and understand exactly what they’re paying for, loyalty naturally follows.