Cross-border Remittance: From Cost Competition to Infrastructure

The global remittance market continues to see steady and positive growth.

According to The Business Research Company, the global remittance market is expected to grow from USD 828 billion in 2025 to USD 879 billion in 2026, reaching USD 1.14 trillion by 2030, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.9%.

This growth is being driven by the continued movement of the global workforce and the rapid development of digital payment infrastructure, including e-wallets, mobile applications, and Fintech solutions. Sending money across borders has never been faster or more convenient.

However, as sending money becomes easier, a new question is emerging for money transfer/remittance providers: What makes customers choose one service over another?

When “Experience” Becomes a Priority

A recent study by FXC Intelligence, analyzing 3,000 user reviews of 20 major money transfer/remittance providers across app stores and Trustpilot, highlighted several interesting findings.

• Positive reviews: Among reviews where 80% received four stars or higher, the two factors customers were most satisfied with were ease of use and transaction speed. Fees and exchange rates ranked third, with a significant gap.

• Negative reviews: As many as 29% of negative reviews directly mentioned customer support. Key issues included slow responses, transactions delayed for days without clear explanations, or customers being left uncertain about where their money was in the process. Other pain points included account verification, registration, refunds, transaction cancellations, security, and app reliability.

In the past, low fees and competitive exchange rates were among the strongest marketing messages for attracting users. That is still true. However, as the market becomes more competitive and fee levels continue to converge, cost is becoming less of a differentiator than before.

In the same study, 74% of mentions related to fees and exchange rates were positive. This suggests that providers are already doing a relatively good job of meeting customer expectations on cost.

As a result, customers are likely to pay more attention to the overall experience and quality of service:

• Is the app/platform easy to use?

• Does the money arrive quickly?

• Can customers clearly track the status of their transaction?

• And if something goes wrong, is there someone available to help?

From the user’s perspective, a transaction is only truly complete when the money reaches the intended recipient.

From “Cost War” to “Infrastructure War”

Changing customer expectations are pushing money transfer/remittance providers to rethink where their competitive advantage comes from.

The advantage is no longer simply about “who is cheaper”, but increasingly about: “Who can help customers complete a transaction faster, more simply, and with less uncertainty?”

However, delivering a consistent experience at a global scale comes with another challenge: infrastructure varies from country to country.

A provider may be able to standardize the experience very well on the sending side, but the quality of payout on the receiving side depends heavily on local payment infrastructure, regulations, and payout methods. One unstable or slow payout link can immediately impact the entire customer experience that a company has invested significant resources in building.

Vietnam continues to be one of the major recipients of remittances and inbound money flows globally. To address the end-user experience in this market, international remittance and money transfer providers need a local payout partner that is not only strong in technology, but also has a deep understanding of operational risks.

This is also the challenge that we at 9Pay have been focusing on: connecting and supporting global remittance and money transfer providers through building and optimizing payout infrastructure in Vietnam, with three key strengths: Accuracy – Speed – Scale.

Closing thought

The cross-border money transfer industry is entering a new stage of deeper development.

I believe the winners in the next stage will not necessarily be the companies that sacrifice margins to keep competing on price. They will be the ones with strong enough infrastructure and reliable enough payout networks to deliver a faster, more accurate, and more reassuring experience for their customers.

If you’re looking for a trusted partner for your remittance business in Vietnam, let’s connect with 9Pay and explore how we can support your operations locally: https://9pay.vn/en/business-cooperation 

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By Mr. Ngô Bình Nguyên - CEO of 9Pay