Cross-Border Payments and Remittance Services Growth Opportunities

Future Growth Potential to be Accelerated by Digital Transformation in Distribution Channel and Settlement

Cross-border payments and remittance transactions, even if essential, appear as a commodity for most customers; as a result, the fee structure has to be lowered to not appear as a pain point during the transaction, especially for the digital channel. Moreover, the rapid growth of mobile penetration across the world can be attributed to the growth of digital adoption in cross-border payments and remittance services. The adoption of omnichannel, mobile-first models that provide multiple touch points between customers and service providers will register high growth. Digitization improves mechanisms to reduce costs.

The proliferation of the digital platform will encourage customers to move to online transactions. Global remittance and cross-border payments’ transaction value is expected to grow from $37.15 trillion in 2020 to $39.9 trillion by 2026. All major participants are exploring the new Payment-as-a-service (PaaS) and remittance-as-a-service (white label) business model by leveraging on their in-house payment platforms. Global PaaS is expected to reach $25.5 billion by 2026 from $7.1 billion in 2020, expanding at a Compound Annual Growth Rate (CAGR) of 23.9%.

New, emerging trends in payment technologies, such as Blockchain and Distributed Ledger Technology (DLT) can improve the transaction cost and transfer time, and generate real-time data focused on key aspects (e.g., customer behavior). DLT can solve cross-border transaction and settlement problems by verifying the origin and authenticity of a product as it moves across the value chain. Partnerships with companies that provide Blockchain systems will be crucial to offer security services with a strong focus on transparency and data privacy. Investments in next-gen architectures will increase as companies identify important secure payments such as tokenization, and cloud-native payment platforms.

Next-gen payment technologies, such as Big Data automation and cloud computing infrastructure, lower the costs of the money transfer processing infrastructure. Increased connectivity will enable the use of bank Application Programming Interfaces (APIs) by third-party providers. The exchange of information among different industry participants will improve the outcome of APIs to address different use cases. The growing use of APIs and more robust connectivity will lead to a better customer experience by enabling converging industry participants to interact and exchange information seamlessly. Financial Institutes (FIs), including Money Transfer Operators (MTOs) and start-ups, are collaborating to test next-gen technologies, share expertise, and implement new business models. Market participants have developed Money Transfer Platforms (MTPs) leveraging on APIs that enable them to create of a wide range of remittance services, including real-time cross-border transfers, local Account-clearing House (ACH) transfers, funds sent to a debit card account, embeddable payouts, and account payable tool integration. More FIs will invest in APIs as the cross border payment transaction value processed with APIs increases in the short term.

In the next 5 to 10 years, companies across the retail, eCommerce, telco, and technology segments will converge to provide payment capability, thus forming considerable opportunities for FIs to further drive the adoption of digital payments. The data collected during payment transactions could be monetized to create up-to-date and detailed consumer profiles. Data collection monetization could also be used to decrease the overall payment processing transaction cost. With real-time data updates, service providers can run analytics and determine unique patterns in customers’ behaviour. Moreover, the combination of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning (ML) has improved the quality and adoption rate of digital onboarding as FIs strive to achieve higher compliance standards and adopt efficient KYC processes. This approach improves digital security and risk management processes; as a result, cross-border payments and remittance services are aligned with regional regulations and security requirements.

Regulatory bodies across the globe have undertaken major initiatives to improve the payment industry. In APAC, Singapore, China, Thailand, Malaysia, Indonesia, Vietnam, the Philippines, Japan, South Korea, Australia, and New Zealand established the Asian Payments Network (APN) in 2006 to accelerate the adoption of real-time cross-border interchange banking transactions in the region. Meanwhile, the European Union (EU) has successfully launched Single Euro Payments Area (SEPA) to connect real-time payment systems between EU countries, thereby enabling cross-border transactions.

Key Issues Addressed

• What are the key drivers and restraints within the cross-border payments and remittance market?
• What are trends within the cross-border payments and remittance landscape in the global market, and what is their impact?
• What is the size of the global cross-border payments market? Is it growing? 
• Which remittance and cross-border payments channels are driving the growth of this market and why?
• What is the market outlook like for cross-border payments and remittances across the world?
• What are future opportunities within cross-border payments and remittances across the world? 
• Which are the key market participants? What are the major opportunities for these companies, and how are they positioned to meet customer requirements?