Asia Payments Research
Remittance sector in Asia poised for more growth
Activity in Asia’s remittance market shows no signs of slowing down as a flurry of partnerships and new product launches signal growing interest in the sector. In China, Xoom, the digital remittance subsidiary of PayPal announced a partnership with Tencent to enable Weixin Pay users to receive funds in their Weixin Pay wallets or bank accounts. This collaboration is aimed at providing more options for customers to remit funds to China, in particular customers in the U.S., Canada and Europe which are markets that have high value and volume of remittance outflows to China. Xoom has previously collaborated with Alipay to enable cross-border payments to AliPay users in China, so this new tie up with Weixin Pay will help strengthen Xoom’s presence in China.
In a strategic leap that exemplifies the fusion of global fintech ambition and hyperlocal consumer behavior, Stripe has expanded its partnership with Tencent to enable in-person payments via Weixin Pay (also known as WeChat Pay) on Stripe Terminal across 20 countries. This move is more than a technical integration, it is a bold acknowledgment of how commerce is evolving to accommodate cultural and digital fluidity.
In a significant stride towards regional financial integration, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) has officially joined the Regional Payment Connectivity (RPC) initiative. This move not only marks Cambodia’s deepening engagement in ASEAN’s digital financial ecosystem but also underscores the broader ambitions of the bloc to streamline and modernize cross-border payments.
In a pivotal leap forward for global finance, Nexus Global Payments (NGP) has officially launched, ushering in a new chapter for cross-border transactions. Born from a bold vision seeded by the Bank for International Settlements (BIS) in 2021, what began as a proof-of-concept has now matured into an operational reality. The shift marks not only a technological milestone but a profound transformation in how countries could approach international payments going forward.
LankaPay, Sri Lanka’s National Payment Network, has partnered with Ant International to launch Alipay+ in the country. In the first phase of the launch, 14 international digital wallets, which are partnered with Alipay+, will be made available to over 400,000 LANKAQR merchants in Sri Lanka. LANKAQR is the country’s national QR code standard introduced by the Central Bank of Sri Lanka. This partnership comes at an opportune moment as travel to Asia has been gaining momentum and is expected to recover to pre-pandemic levels this year. Tourists and business travelers from China, Mongolia, the Philippines, Singapore, Malaysia, South Korea, Thailand, and Italy will now be able to scan the LANKAQR code and make payments using their preferred home payment app.
Sam Altman’s World Network is reportedly in discussions with Visa to integrate stablecoin payments into its self-custody crypto wallet, a move that could significantly impact the evolving intersection of traditional finance and digital assets. If successful, this initiative would allow users to spend stablecoins at any merchant that accepts Visa, effectively bridging the gap between the crypto economy and the mainstream financial system. With stablecoins emerging as a preferred digital asset for payments due to their price stability, this collaboration signals a broader shift toward the adoption of blockchain-based financial services.
Cambodia’s Bakong goes from strength to strength
In its recent annual report, the National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) presented data on the Bakong blockchain-based payment system which showed impressive growth. The volume of transactions in USD have increased by 133% and those in Cambodian Riel have grown 334%. Payment volumes on Bakong during 2024 amounted to US$105 billion which represents more than three times the country’s gross domestic product (GDP).
The Indian fintech landscape is set to witness a significant development with Pine Labs' initial public offering (IPO) in the second half of 2025. The payment solutions provider, backed by global investors such as Peak XV, PayPal, Mastercard, and Singapore’s Temasek, aims to raise approximately US$1 billion through its IPO. This move comes amidst challenging market conditions and will mark Pine Labs’ second attempt at going public after deferring a previous plan to list in the U.S.
Airwallex sees double-digit growth in 2024
Tencent-backed Airwallex appears to have had another banner year. In a Dec. 10 press release, the B2B payments firm said that its global revenue jumped 73% year-on-year while in the Asia-Pacific Region growth revenue growth was even brisker at 83%.
YouTrip is confident about its prospects
Singapore-based fintech startup YouTrip is increasingly confident about its business prospects and has even started talking about an IPO – though the company’s leadership will not commit to a date yet. YouTrip is an anomaly. In 2023, it managed to raise US$50 million in a tough period for fintech funding, which supported the expansion of its multicurrency wallet in Malyasia, Singapore and Thailand. It achieved profitability in 2022 and has stayed in the black. In November, YouTrip CEO Caecilia Chu told Nikkei Asia that the company processed US$10 billion in transactions last year and is projected to see a 70% annual revenue increase in 2024.
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Why a retail digital currency is working in Cambodia
Massive hype about central bank digital currencies – and in particular the retail segment – has not translated to widescale adoption in Asia. This is particularly notable in the region’s two largest economies and nations by population: China and India. Yet while retail users have limited interest in digital fiat currencies in China and India, they are flocking to Cambodia’s Project Bakong, which surpassed 10 million accounts (60% of Cambodia’s population) in December 2023. The National Bank of Cambodia (NBC) jointly developed Bakong with the Japanese blockchain technology startup Soramitsu, launching it in October 2020.
The last few years have witnessed a rapidly evolving cross-border payment landscape in Asia Pacific. Across the region, financial institutions and FinTechs have made significant headway in areas like central bank digital currencies (CBDCs) and real-time payments.
However, several challenges remain that impede further progress. Potential CBDC fragmentation, legacy systems, and rising digital fraud pose difficulties. As 2025 approaches, regulators, financial institutions, and FinTechs must understand three key gaps and address them.
How successful is Airwallex?
Airwallex, a plucky Tencent-backed B2B payments company founded in Australia, said on Aug. 15 that it has surpassed US$100 billion in annual processing volume, a 73% annual increase. The company, which has moved its corporate headquarters several times since its 2015 founding and is now based in Singapore, said it has seen growing volumes across all products and an annual run rate revenue of almost $500 million. While these numbers suggest that Airwallex continues to experience robust growth amid a broader fintech slowdown, it remains unprofitable.
Mynt is on a roll
Ant Group and Globe-backed Mynt, which operates the e-wallet GCash, is on a roll. Long one of the most valuable startups in the Philippines, it this month saw its valuation increase to US$5 billion – more than doubling its previous valuation of US$2 billion that it reached in 2021 – following a combined US$800 million capital injection from Japan’s MUFG and the Philippine conglomerate Ayala. The new funding for Mynt comes at a time when large fintech investments are hard to come by given high interest rates and more-stringent investor expectations.