Top Earners in Cross-Border Payments Reach Over $1 Billion in Revenue
In the vast and dynamic world of global finance, the cross-border payments market continues to be a significant player, with a total addressable market (TAM) of approximately $194.8 trillion in 2024. This figure, as reported by FXC Intelligence, encompasses both wholesale and retail cross-border payments, including business-to-business (B2B), small-to-medium business (SMB), consumer-to-business (C2B), consumer-to-consumer (C2C), and business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions.
The retail segment, which accounts for B2B payments among others, is projected to grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 5.7%, reaching about $62.3 trillion by 2032. This growth potential has not gone unnoticed by challengers in the cross-border payments sector, who are increasingly targeting high-value customers to capitalise on this market opportunity.
One such challenger is Payoneer, a company expected to cross the $1 billion revenue mark in 2025. Remitly, another player in the market, achieved this milestone in 2024, with its Corporate Payments segment surpassing $1 billion in revenues. Corpay's Corporate Payments division also saw growth, with its share of non-US revenues rising and the division growing its share of the company's overall revenues.
The success of companies like Payoneer, Wise, Remitly, and Corpay could indicate further growth and expansion in the future. These companies have found strategic advantages in retaining customer funds and generating interest income, a practice that could present a key challenge in lower interest rate environments.
To stay competitive, these companies are also focusing on adding new services to retain and get more value from existing customers. Wise, for instance, reported its second $1 billion+ year in FY 2024, demonstrating the potential for growth through customer-centric marketing and service improvement.
The global cross-border payments market, measured by the transaction flow, is enormous, with hundreds of trillions to near a quadrillion dollars annually. On the other hand, the market for platforms and payment providers is in the tens to hundreds of billions in revenue terms. Market research by ResearchAndMarkets shows the cross-border payments market to be valued at around $212.55 billion in 2024, projected to grow to $320.73 billion by 2030.
The resilience and profitability of companies like Payoneer, Wise, and their peers as they scale will be crucial for their continued growth. As the market potential for B2B cross-border payments continues to be particularly significant among challengers to traditional banks, the cross-border payments market presents a massive opportunity for companies to capture market share.
[1] FXC Intelligence (2024). Global Cross-border Payments Market 2024-2032: Rapid Growth and Expansion. [2] ResearchAndMarkets (2024). Cross-border Payments Market to Reach $121.84 Billion by 2033. [3] International Monetary Fund (2024). Global Cross-border Payments: Challenges and Opportunities. [4] ResearchAndMarkets (2024). Cross-border Payments Market to Grow to $320.73 Billion by 2030.
Technology plays a crucial role in the operations and growth strategies of financial companies in the cross-border payments industry, such as Payoneer, Wise, Remitly, and Corpay. These companies leverage technology to enhance their services, retain customer funds, and generate interest income, a practice that could become more challenging in lower interest rate environments.
The growing TAM of the retail segment in the cross-border payments market, expected to reach about $62.3 trillion by 2032, has caught the attention of tech-savvy challengers. These companies are capitalizing on the market opportunity by targeting high-value customers and adding new services to retain and extract more value from existing customers.
