Digital Remittance Global Market Opportunities and Strategies to 2033

This report describes and explains the digital remittance market and covers 2018-2023, termed the historic period, and 2023-2028, 2033F termed the forecast period. The report evaluates the market across each region and for the major economies within each region.

The global digital remittance market reached a value of nearly $21.8 billion in 2023, having grown at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 14% since 2018. The market is expected to grow from $21.8 billion in 2023 to $44.58 billion in 2028 at a rate of 15.4%. The market is then expected to grow at a CAGR of 15.9% from 2028 and reach $93.15 billion in 2033.

Growth in the historic period resulted bilateral agreements between countries to ease remittance flows, increased migration rates, increase in adoption of mobile-based platforms and emerging markets growth. Factors that negatively affected growth in the historic period include the rise in cyber security concerns and lack of security in digital payments.

Going forward, the increasing adoption of smartphones and internet connectivity, expansion of the e-commerce industry, increasing world population, and increasing adoption of digital financial services will drive the market. Factors that could hinder the growth of the digital remittance market in the future include growing data breach threats and a lack of digital literacy.

The digital remittance market is segmented by type into inward digital remittance and outward digital remittance. The outward digital remittance market was the largest segment of the digital remittance market segmented by type, accounting for 60.3% or $13.14 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the inward digital remittance segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the digital remittance market segmented by type, at a CAGR of 16.8% during 2023-2028.

The digital remittance market is segmented by channel into banks, money transfer operators, online platforms and other channels. The money transfer operators market was the largest segment of the digital remittance market segmented by channel, accounting for 40.9% or $8.92 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the online platforms segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the digital remittance market segmented by channel, at a CAGR of 18.5% during 2023-2028.

The digital remittance market is segmented by end use into migrant labor workforce, individual, small businesses and other end uses. The individual market was the largest segment of the digital remittance market segmented by end use, accounting for 47.2% or $10.29 billion of the total in 2023. Going forward, the individual segment is expected to be the fastest growing segment in the digital remittance market segmented by end use, at a CAGR of 16% during 2023-2028.

Western Europe was the largest region in the digital remittance market, accounting for 29.5% or $6.43 billion of the total in 2023. It was followed by North America, Asia-Pacific and then the other regions. Going forward, the fastest-growing regions in the digital remittance market will be Africa and Asia-Pacific, where growth will be at CAGRs of 18.9% and 17.6% respectively. These will be followed by South America and the Middle East, where the markets are expected to grow at CAGRs of 16.9% and 14.8% respectively.

The global digital remittance market is fairly fragmented, with a large number of players operating in the market. The top ten competitors in the market made up 21.4% of the total market in 2023. PayPal Holdings Inc. was the largest competitor with a 6.2% share of the market, followed by Revolut Ltd. with 5%, MoneyGram International Inc. with 3.6%, Remitly Inc. with 2.2%, WorldRemit Ltd. with 1.2%, Transfast LLC with 0.9%, Bank of America Corporation with 0.7%, Small World Financial Services Group Ltd. with 0.6%, TransferGo Ltd. with 0.6% and OFX Group Ltd. with 0.5%.

The top opportunities in the digital remittance market segmented by type will arise in the money transfer operators segment, which will gain $10.42 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the digital remittance market segmented by channel will arise in the outward digital remittance segment, which will gain $12.66 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The top opportunities in the digital remittance market segmented by end use will arise in the individual segment, which will gain $11.35 billion of global annual sales by 2028. The digital remittance market size will gain the most in the USA at $4.95 billion.

Market-trend-based strategies for the digital remittance market include launch of embedded remittances services to provide a seamless and convenient experience, product innovation and new services drive seamless cross-border transactions and strategic partnerships and collaborations among major players.

Player-adopted strategies in the digital remittance market include focuses on diversifying businesses by scaling up capabilities to newer geographies and expanding customers through new product developments and expanding business capabilities through strategic partnerships.

To take advantage of the opportunities, the analyst recommends the digital remittance companies to focus on embedded remittance services integration, focus on continuous product innovation in digital remittance services, focus on inward digital remittance market segment, focus on online platforms market segment, expand in emerging markets, continue to focus on developed markets, focus on strategic partnerships for distribution expansion, provide competitively priced offerings, participate in trade shows and events, continue to use B2B promotions and focus on individual end-users for targeted growth.