NEW DATA: cross-border payments market now worth over $194tn and is forecast to reach $320tn by 2032

The cross-border payments market in its entirety had a total addressable market of $194.6tn in 2024 and is forecast to reach $320tn by 2032. In the same year, non-wholesale cross-border payments totaled $39.9tn and are set to grow to $64.5tn in 2032, an increase of 62%.
By using advanced data collection techniques, FXC Intelligence is in a unique position to provide rich data on the size of the high opaque cross-border payments market in a new report releasing its latest market forecast today.
Growth in the market will be largely driven by digital innovation, regulatory evolution and rising consumer expectations.

The entire wholesale and retail cross-border payments market had a total addressable market (TAM) of $194.6tn in 2024 and is forecast to reach $320.2tn by 2032 , according to new market sizing data from FXC Intelligence, the leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence.

The non-wholesale cross-border payments industry had a global TAM of $39.9tn in 2024 and is forecasted to grow to $64.5tn in 2032, representing a 62% increase on 2024 and a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 6.2%.

According to FXC Intelligence, growth will be aided by innovations in digital payments to cut costs and reduce processing times, incentivising greater flows. Regulatory evolution will also play a role; for example PSD3 in Europe facilitating smoother transitions and the G20 Roadmap for Enhancing Cross-Border Payments incentivising cost reductions.

Consumer expectations of instant and transparent payments are pushing providers to upgrade their services and increased adoption of digital wallets will drive growth in C2B and C2C transactions.

The size of the B2B cross-border payments market

The B2B market (business-to-business payments) covers the payments made between businesses in different countries that facilitate the flow of goods and services across international borders.

The B2B market is highly opaque, making it difficult to ascertain the size of the market. Due to FXC Intelligence’s advanced data collection and analysis techniques, it has been able to assess and share the most accurate picture available of the TAM for B2B payments.

In 2024, the B2B cross-border payments market had a total global size of $31.6tn, and is set to grow by 58% to $50tn in 2032, with a 5.9% CAGR.

Large enterprise is the biggest segment of the B2B market overall – its global TAM for 2024 was $17.8tn – and is projected to grow by 62% to $28.8tn in 2032, with a 6.2% CAGR. Within this, large enterprise goods represented the largest B2B segment, with a 2024 market size of $13.3tn, climbing to $21.1tn in 2032

By contrast, SMB overall had a 2024 global TAM of $13.8tn, which is forecast to rise to $21.2tn in 2032 – a growth rate of 54% and a CAGR of 5.6%.

Interestingly, when splitting the entire B2B market across goods and services, services are set to grow at a faster rate than goods over the next eight years. While B2B goods is projected to increase by a CAGR of 5.7% between 2024 and 2032, B2B services is forecast to climb at a CAGR of 6.6% over the same period.

While non-digital services are set to see consistent, steady growth over the next few years, with a CAGR of 4.8% between 2024 and 2032, digital services are forecast to see stronger growth, with a CAGR of 8.3% over the same period.

The size of the consumer money transfers (C2C) market

Also known as P2P (person-to-person) payments, the C2C payments market covers consumer money transfers, including both migrant remittances and high-value transfers.

While the overall C2C market is considerably smaller than B2B, it is still set to see significant growth over the next few years, driven by greater digitisation and infrastructure improvements, as well as changes in migrant behaviour.

In 2024, consumer money transfers had a global TAM of $2tn, although this is set to grow by 58% by 2032, with a 5.9% CAGR. This sees the total market size projected to reach $3.1tn in 2032.

The size of the C2B market

The C2B (consumer-to-business) market covers all payments made across borders by consumers to businesses and includes both travel-related payments and ecommerce payments.

C2B had a considerably higher cross-border TAM than C2C, at $4.5tn in 2024. This is also set to rise at a marginally faster rate than C2C, climbing 59% to $7.1tn in 2032, with a CAGR of 5.9%.

This growth has been largely driven by the rapid expansion of cross-border ecommerce and is particularly pronounced in ecommerce-driven markets, most notably China and India.

The size of the B2C market

The B2C (business-to-consumer) market includes the payment of international workers, including both formal employee compensation, those remunerated through the gig economy and other ad-hoc cross-border payments such as social media payouts.

The 2024 TAM for cross-border B2C payments is below that of C2B, at $1.9tn, although FXC Intelligence’s forecasts show B2C payments climbing by 131% between 2024 and 2032, with a CAGR of 11.1%, to reach $4.4tn.

Much of this growth is being driven by the continued rise of the gig economy and ongoing increases in cross-border payments to creators and influencers, aided in part by increasing reach, sophistication and complexity of social media platforms.

Lucy Ingham, Editor-in-Chief and Head of Content at FXC Intelligence and author of the report, said:

“This data and analysis emphasises the important role of the cross-border payments industry in driving global economic growth and shows how international money transfers have become an essential part of daily life worldwide. For consumers, cross-border payments enable purchases from foreign merchants, support international travel and empower individuals to send money to family abroad. For businesses, the cross-border payments industry provides the infrastructure needed for the expansion of international trade and commerce. The health and growth of the cross-border payments market is indicative of the growing globalisation of people and businesses in all regions of the world.

“This report is encouraging for the industry and wider economic landscape as we look to 2030 and beyond. FXC Intelligence’s data, insight and services are available to players in the cross-border payments industry that want to make the most of the opportunities to be found in this fast-growing market.”

Read more about the data and analysis in the report ‘How big is the cross-border payments market? 2032’s $65tn TAM’.

Further information

Non-wholesale cross-border payments are otherwise known as retail cross-border payments and combines the cross-border global flows for large enterprise goods and services; small and medium-sized business (SMB) goods and services; consumer-to-business (C2B) payments; consumer-to-consumer (C2C) payments; and business-to-consumer (B2C) payments.