How banks can drive SME success in today’s shifting trade landscape

The recent increase in tariffs, ignited by rapidly evolving international trade policies in the US, has vastly changed the way the global economy functions. SMEs now find themselves grappling with uncertain supply and demand, as well as currency fluctuations.

As SMEs weather this economic uncertainty, banks have a unique opportunity — and responsibility — to enhance their cross-border payments offerings to support these customers.

Tariffs unpacked

At their core, tariffs are taxes imposed on imported goods to shield domestic industries from foreign competition. Recent US trade policies implemented on 5 April, 2025 have doubled down on this approach, encouraging buy-local initiatives that back local production but also create complexities for businesses with international footprints.

For SMEs, these changes aren't merely policy footnotes—they're forcing them to reconsider their business operations and their approach to cross-border payments.

SMEs employ over half the world's workforce and generate up to 70% of GDP in developed economies.

Why SMEs are so key to banks—and the global economy

What many fail to realise is that SMEs are not just important business segments—they're essential to the global economy. These businesses with fewer than 250 employees drive 90% of global business, employ over half the world's workforce and generate up to 55% of GDP in developed economies.

The scale is staggering: in 2021 alone, around 32,000 UK SMEs exported £12 billion worth of goods to the US, while 36,000 imported £10.5 billion from the US. For banks facilitating these global transactions, catering to the cross-border payments needs of this segment is crucial to retaining these lucrative customers.

Navigating shifting trade policies

The effects of rapidly shifting trade policies are already evident, with the US recently imposing a 10% universal tariff on imports for countries like the UK.

In the month ahead, SMEs will face:

• Squeezed profit margins: Higher costs on imported goods and materials will force global SMEs to either absorb these costs or raise prices, potentially hampering their competitive edge. For many businesses operating on thin margins of 5-10%, these tariff increases could represent the difference between profitability and loss.
• Supply chain disruptions: Unpredictable policy changes complicate operational planning and inventory management for businesses with limited resources. Depending on the financial implications of these newly introduced tariffs, some businesses may need to evaluate where they source their goods, requiring new supplier relationships and payment channels.
• Currency volatility: The uneven application of tariffs has led to currency devaluation in heavily targeted countries. Unlike their larger counterparts, most SMEs lack both sophisticated hedging strategies and financial reserves to withstand sudden exchange rate fluctuations.

How banks can help

Banks occupy a unique position to offer stability during uncertain times by augmenting their cross-border payment services in four critical areas:

• End-to-end visibility: By offering complete transparency throughout the payment journey—including clear pricing and real-time tracking—banks become trusted anchors during unpredictable times. SMEs need to know exactly where their money is at all times, especially when managing tight cash flows.
• Improve supplier satisfaction with speed and transparency: Research shows 76% of SMEs now expect their payment providers to deliver instant global transfers. Faster payments empower SMEs to efficiently pay suppliers, enabling them to better manage inventory requirements with working capital requirements.
• Currency reach: As SMEs search for new supply routes, banks can differentiate themselves by offering access to a wide range of emerging and major market currencies. This enables fast, transparent cross-border payments, giving SMEs and suppliers more flexibility to access diverse currencies across the globe.
• Flexible payments solutions: Multi-currency accounts allow SMEs to hold and manage funds in different currencies, providing protection against market volatility and greater financial control. This capability becomes especially valuable when businesses need to make strategic decisions about when to convert funds based on market conditions.

Banks occupy a unique position to offer stability during uncertain times by enhancing their cross-border payment services.

Modernising payments through partnerships

While many banks recognise these needs, they often lack the infrastructure to provide their SME customers with transparent, seamless payment experiences and access to diverse currencies. This limitation stems from their backend systems being optimised for domestic services like mortgages, loans and savings accounts—not cross-border transactions. As a result, many banks continue to rely on slow, opaque and costly intermediary-heavy processes when handling international payments.

The good news: banks don't need complex, costly overhauls to deliver the services SMEs deserve. Instead, they can now partner with agile cross-border payments infrastructure providers like Wise Platform that focus exclusively on solving this particular challenge. This approach eliminates the need for banks to invest significant time, resources and money into building out their own infrastructure to support SMEs and consumers.

Proven success through partnership

Wise has spent over 14 years building a resilient global network of direct connections into faster local payment systems while establishing a comprehensive web of regulatory and central bank relationships. Through our Wise Platform offering, we enable banks like Standard Chartered, Monzo and Zemplar Bank to plug into our infrastructure to deliver customer-centric payments experiences—allowing their SMEs to navigate uncertain times with complete confidence in their cross-border payment solutions.

Through convenient API or Swift integrations, banks can benefit from our access to:

• Direct connections to faster local payment systems for improved visibility and control—removing intermediary-heavy processes
• Instant payments: 65% arrive in under 20 seconds, 95% complete within 24 hours*
• 160+ countries in over 40 major and emerging market currencies
• Enhanced cost transparency for precise beneficiary payment amounts
• A global network backed by scalable compliance, real-time treasury management and operational automation

Building SME resilience through collaboration

While payment experiences alone can't solve the challenges of global trade today, they can be a game-changer for SMEs navigating this uncertain environment. By improving their payments offerings, banks can increase customer satisfaction and lifetime value in this crucial market segment—providing the solutions SMEs need to thrive, even as policies continue to evolve.

Discover how your bank can deliver fast, affordable global payment solutions that your SME customers love: www.wise.com/platform

*Transaction speed claimed is not available for all transactions.