International money transfers are rapidly developing, and every year brings new challenges to the industry. What are the 2023 cross-border remittance trends?

Embedded finance

Obviously, analytics and experts have been talking about embedded finance and seamless transfers for quite a while, and in 2023 this trend keeps accelerating. The tendency offers benefits both for the remittance businesses and for their customers. Since embedded finance implies reducing the number of steps one needs to take to complete a transfer, the companies can simplify their processes and minimise costs. As for their clients, they receive a better experience because the transfers become easier and more user-friendly.

Real-time payments

Money transfers may take some time, especially when it comes to cross-border remittances. In 2023, people worldwide are already used to fast deliveries and quick services and do not want to wait for a money transfer to be completed. Making transfers faster corresponds with simplifying the process, so both fintech companies and central banks across the world are looking into RTPs.

Simply put, their goal is to make international transfers to be as simple as handing cash to a friend. Even though specific payment methods’ processing may take some time, card-to-card transfers are completed within minutes, and the market players are putting effort into keeping the pace and speeding it up.

Going mobile

Switching from PCs to smartphones started a while ago. Even though international remittances may seem complicated, there is a high demand for mobile service in the industry, which is admitted worldwide. In November 2022, Thailand and Vietnam enabled cross-border transfers via QR codes for tourists, and more similar services will likely appear worldwide in 2023.

While most of the players still offer their customers an adapted website version, their focus turns to designing еру convenient and intelligent mobile apps for Apple, Android and other platforms. One may send money, verify their account (to increase the transfer limit), check their transfer history and so on using just phone.

AI-powered services

Machines are rising, and that’s for the better! As the popularity of AI is growing in numerous industries (everyone has heard of Midjourney or ChatGPT), it is also widely used in fintech - for more thoughtful insights, faster processes and more.

Remittance industry companies are not being left out.  For example, AI is being used to analyse statistics and track exchange rates to suggest the most beneficial ones. Some also have an AI-powered customer care chatbots and verification bots providing instant responses. Even though I am impressed by the potential of machine learning, I try to design a human-oriented service, so human professionals curate all AI-powered processes in Profee, the company I represent.

Eco-friendliness

Many activists and fintech companies are worried about the impact financial services have on the environment, and the latter are trying to become more eco-friendly. While research on the subject focuses primarily on the number of checks and plastic cards, it is essential to mention that the infrastructure of fintech giants requires tangible resources.

Digital remittance companies have no piles of paper: all the checks are electronic, so they email it to the customers right after the transfer. Plus, those services are optimising the use of infrastructure, not only for the sake of the environment.

The new year is always a time for ideas and opportunities. We are still determining what 2023 will bring us, and after the last few years, we are used to facing the challenges no one could think of. And yet, one thing is sure: in 2023, сross-border money transfers will become simpler, and industrial companies will keep working assiduously to eliminate the friction between the user and the functional backend of the procedure.