The global remittance market is projected to reach $634.5 billion by 2030, up 9.6 per cent from $578.9 billion in 2026, as economic pressures reshape how migrants send money across borders.
This is according to a new study by global technology research firm Juniper Research, which said the projected growth represents a significant slowdown from the previous five years, when the market expanded by 19 per cent, largely driven by the post-COVID-19 rebound.
Juniper Research attributed the slower growth outlook to weaker economic conditions and persistent inflation in countries where migrants earn and send money from.
According to the report, declining incomes and reduced sending capacity are expected to make remittance users increasingly sensitive to the cost of cross-border transfers.
As a result, providers are likely to face growing pressure to lower transaction costs while improving the speed, convenience and flexibility of international money transfers.
The research noted that competition in the cross-border payments market remains intense, with no single non-bank provider accounting for more than one per cent of the global market.
It said providers would increasingly need to differentiate themselves through lower transaction fees, faster settlement times and the ability to deliver funds directly into recipients’ preferred accounts, including mobile money and digital wallets.
Lorien Carter, senior research analyst at Juniper Research, said “Interoperability has key differentiating potential. In practice, this involves building direct connections to local real-time settlement rails and end points such as mobile money and digital wallet accounts, which lowers fees and improves settlement times.”
The report also identified blockchain infrastructure as another technology capable of transforming the remittance market by providing an alternative settlement layer outside traditional banking systems.
Juniper Research said blockchain-based settlement could enable transactions to move across borders with lower on-chain costs and near-immediate settlement, potentially reducing some of the friction associated with conventional international payment channels.
The research pointed to growing investment in digital assets as evidence of this shift, noting that MoneyGram and Revolut are among the companies exploring the integration of stablecoin wallets into their cross-border payment platforms.
Such developments, it said, could provide the infrastructure needed for greater interoperability between traditional payment systems and digital assets, while giving consumers more options for moving money internationally.
