2019 was an exciting year for cross-border payments. In this analysis, we’ll wrap everything up with five big questions heading into 2020.

Expect a lot more from us in 2020, both our industry-leading pricing data and some new products.

1. Which challengers become incumbents?

Ten years ago was a watershed for the sector with so many of the current bigger challengers just starting out. In 2020, some of them will solidify their position in the sector and we’ll start calling them incumbents.

Note – this was also one of our most popular mappings of the year. If you don’t have a copy, make sure you download it here.

2. Who will be bought? Who is for sale?

Will some of the most interesting deals of 2019 – Ant Financial buying WorldFirst, Visa acquiring Earthport – and some of the mega-mergers be surpassed in 2020? As incumbents look for new capabilities and scale, we expect some of the more well known names in the space to be active in the M&A world.

3. What new pricing strategies will emerge?

Pricing is becoming more sophisticated. We’re delighted to have brought on a significant number of banks and payment companies in 2019 to deliver them the best data in the sector.

The leading players in the industry rely on our live pricing data and historical pricing data across 4,400 corridors.

4. Who’ll gain the most market share?

Western Union has had its best year in the past decade from a stock price perspective as it launched its platform. Its revenue and margins remain the envy of the industry. Will TransferWise catch up? What will happen to MoneyGram?

5. Who will focus on growth, who on profit?

Profitability is still highly variable across the sector. Which companies will switch strategy from chasing growth to sustainable profit?