Exclusive: Women account for just 26% of senior leadership roles in cross-border payments

FXC Intelligence published an industry-first report today investigating female representation in senior roles in the cross-border payments industry.
The report found that women account for just 26% of senior leadership roles in the assessed companies.
This comes as Ida Rolek-Kononiuk, VP of Technology at FXC Intelligence, has been selected for Money20/20 Europe’s exclusive 2024 RiseUp cohort, with Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Content at FXC Intelligence, delivering a presentation at the event called ‘What We Got Wrong About Superapps’.

Graphic showing women hold a quarter of cross-border payments leadership roles

Today, FXC Intelligence published an industry-first report investigating the representation of women across senior leadership roles in the cross-border payments industry.

Analysing more than 80 of the most important companies in the space and covering a combined total of 1,074 senior leadership roles, the report found that of the positions assessed, 791 were held by men, while 283 were held by women. This means that women account for 26% – just above a quarter.

Of the companies reviewed, seven (8.5%) had no women in senior leadership roles, while 10 (12.2%) had only one woman. This means that one in five of the assessed companies had one or less women in their senior leadership positions.

People and HR positions accounted for the highest representation of senior positions held by women and were the only role type held by 30 or more people where women accounted for more than half of those in the category, at 73%. Without HR-related positions, women account for just 23% of all leadership positions in the space.

These results are below other key industry measures. For example, the HM Treasury Women in Finance Charter reported that its signatories averaged 35% female representation in 2024, up from 34% in 2022. It is also well below targets set by many players in the wider finance industry, which vary by company but generally sit between 35% and 50%.

This report comes as FXC Intelligence, whose senior leadership team is made up of 44% women, achieved a number of milestones at Money20/20 Europe this week. Ida Rolek-Kononiuk, VP of Technology at FXC Intelligence, secured a spot in Money20/20’s RiseUp cohort, a prestigious programme designed to empower women and non-binary leaders in fintech. Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Content at FXC Intelligence, also delivered a presentation at the event called ‘What We Got Wrong About Superapps’.

Ahead of attending the event, report author Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Content, said:

“This report has some details for the cross-border payments industry to be proud of, and it is encouraging to see women like myself and my colleague Ida increasingly represented at events like Money20/20 Europe, which work hard to amplify women’s voices to an industry dominated by men, particularly through the RiseUp initiative.

“However, it is clear that there is room for improvement when it comes to women’s representation in senior leadership, particularly when it comes to early-stage companies as well as those who are more established.

“This report is the first in a multi-year assessment of the space and designed to provide measurable data for the industry to benchmark itself against and work to improve on.”

To read the report in full, click here. If you are interested in meeting with Ida, Lucy or other members of the FXC Intelligence leadership team including Daniel Webber, CEO and Founder of FXC Intelligence, at Money20/20 or after please reach out here.