How access to global payments is changing across the world

Summary:

• Asia Pacific is leading growth in digital payments through innovation and interoperability tools.
• Cross-border payments have become essential due to rising international travel, ecommerce, and commerce flows. Asia Pacific is projected to handle over a third of global cross-border transactions by 2032.
• Key challenges such as high costs, regulatory fragmentation, and barriers to access remain. But major players like Ant International are building scalable networks and tools that allow consumers to pay seamlessly while overseas.
• Tap into the power of cross-border payments with Ant International. 

The payments industry has come a long way since the late 1990s. Digital transactions have become an ubiquitous part of our lives, accounting for 66% of ecommerce value globally.

Uptake has been especially strong in Asia Pacific, with non-cash transactions expected to hit US$1.5 trillion by 2028.

Cashless could soon be king / Photo credit: Ant International

At the forefront of this growth is Ant International. The Singapore-based firm offers Alipay+, a solution that has helped popularize cross-border payment and digital services such as payment apps and e-wallets. As the industry develops even further, solutions like these will only become more ingrained in consumers’ and travellers’ lives.

What are some of the main trends affecting the global payments industry?

Within Asia Pacific, real-time transactions have emerged as one the central narratives of the region’s evolving payments landscape.

Real-time transactions are estimated to achieve US$170 trillion in value by 2029. The success of these technologies mostly comes down to concerted efforts by governments in the region to establish cross-border payment rails and national QR code standards.

But perhaps the most important trend in Asia Pacific’s payments scene is the surging popularity of cross-border payments. In 2024, the region’s cross-border payments market totaled US$12.8 trillion, but that’s set to almost double to US$23.8 trillion in 2032.

UNCONVER NEW CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS SOLUTIONS

That would put Asia Pacific on track to account for more than a third of the world’s international payments volume.

Why has cross-border payments become more important in the last few years?

As more consumers shop, travel, and work across borders, having a reliable payment method that works regardless of where you are is essential.

Take travel, for example. Tourism inflows into Asia Pacific are at an all-time high, with the region recording the fastest passenger growth rates in the world. As tourists flood into Asia Pacific, merchants need to provide different payment options that work.

An international tourist pays for coffee through Alipay+ / Photo credit: Ant International

To support these needs, Alipay+ enables major international bank card brands and users from multiple countries and regions to conduct scan-and-pay transactions abroad. Ultimately, that means more convenience for consumers looking to stick with e-wallets and solutions that they’re already familiar with.

What are some of the biggest challenges in cross-border payments today?

There are four major areas of concern: costs, speed, access, and transparency. But the main complicating issue is bridging the region’s various markets. While Asia Pacific is often treated as a single region, the reality is that markets vary greatly from one another. As such, if providers face difficulty, then consumers won’t get the cross-border payment solutions they need.

Tap into the power of cross-border payments with Ant International

Overcoming this challenge requires companies to adopt a regional approach that prioritizes interoperability above all.

For instance, Ant International acts like a unified wallet gateway. That means it can deliver cross-border solutions through a diverse range of partnerships, giving consumers a host of options for payment.

Ant International’s network includes 40 mobile wallet providers and 10 national QR payment rails worldwide, including those in Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Sri Lanka, Uzbekistan, Nepal, Indonesia, and Cambodia.

Put together, the potential impact is huge – according to a report by Ant International, travellers are spending more at local businesses, with transactions under US$10 increasing by 37%. The growing use of ride-hailing services has also seen some impact, with traveller spending on these platforms growing by close to 50%.

Photo credit: Ant International

In some especially popular sectors, the growth in cross-border transactions has been astronomical. The same report indicated that K-beauty transactions in South Korea increased 115% year-on-year.

Beyond serving as an e-wallet gateway, Alipay+ has also seen a growth in other related digital services. Its Voyager solution, for instance, allows users to do in-app tax refunds, a further sign that the ecosystem is evolving to serve users’ needs even more comprehensively.

The next horizon

The cross-border payments space is set to get much busier and competitive as more players enter the market, bringing in innovation and new business models.

Providers need to devise affordable and highly efficient solutions to stay top of mind as more people start to incorporate digital solutions into their travel needs and habits.

While more doesn’t always necessarily mean better, it will definitely provide travelers with more options and entice them to embrace a highly digital and global future.

For Ant International, it’s also planning to introduce new technologies for its e-wallet solutions, on top of Alipay+ GenAI Cockpit, an AI-as-a-Service platform that enables fintech companies and super apps to build agent-driven, AI-native financial services. Put together, these moves will help the firm support the growth of fintech services in more markets around the world.

Ant International is a Singapore-based fintech company delivering cross-border payments and digitalization services to customers all over the world. Through its Alipay+ platform, the company is building a bridge between various countries’ merchants and consumers.

To learn more about how you can tap into the power of cross-border payments, click on this link.

UNCONVER NEW CROSS-BORDER PAYMENTS SOLUTIONS

This content was produced by Tech in Asia Studios, which connects brands with Asia’s tech community. Learn more about partnering with Tech in Asia Studios.