Move Money Your Way

Money movement solution Visa Direct works hard to make every transaction, whether locally or overseas, a journey of trust and reliability.

The Asia-Pacific region is on the cusp of a digital payments revolution. Soon, the region will facilitate over US$40 trillion in commercial money movement 1, excluding China’s domestic payments market. The number of digital transactions is also set to skyrocket, from 528.7 billion in 2022 to 1.46 trillion in 2028.2

Multiple trends are driving this growth, including high mobile penetration rates, a growing tech-savvy user base and supportive government policies that are encouraging users to go digital. Additionally, migration, global trade, financial inclusion and the rise of the gig economy demand that individuals and businesses are able to move money from one country to another easily, securely and quickly.

However, facilitating fast and seamless cross-border payments is often a challenge. In the business banking space, high transaction costs, currency volatility and a lack of expertise in navigating foreign exchange (FX) markets add overhead and time to overseas transactions.

High transaction cost

Currency volatility

Low FX efficiency

Time zone limitations

Limited payment infrastructure

Regulatory challenges

Another issue is the region’s lack of interoperability. Siloed payments networks, contrasting regulatory environments, disparate regional standards and the inability of banks to facilitate overseas transactions out of office hours create further inefficiencies.

Customers clearly want a fast and easy-to-use service.

Research by Visa reveals that, to access instant fund transfers,

69% of consumers are likely to switch financial institutions

Woman walking with luggage at an airport

and 53% of those surveyed are willing to pay a fee for this service.3

Fortunately, money movement innovation is disrupting the status quo by delivering new services that are enabling individuals and organizations to send and receive money instantly at any time, empowering them to move money the way they want to.

What are some of the most exciting developments, and how are these innovations helping people and businesses?

A Lifeline
Across
Borders

Maria left the Philippines when her daughter was seven to work as a domestic helper in Singapore and to fund her education.

Every month, she sends money home for tuition and household expenses. Timing and cost matter, so Maria relies on P2P payment gateways enabled by Visa Direct for fast and secure remittances.

For the past decade, Maria has supported her daughter, who will soon graduate high school and start university.

a woman and her daughter hugging and smiling

One day, her daughter might work abroad and send money back, supporting Maria in her retirement.

Supporting Migrant Workers With Enhanced P2P Payments

Migrant workers have contributed a great deal to Asia-Pacific’s economic growth story. In fact, much of the supercharged development of Singapore, Hong Kong and Malaysia can be attributed to the ability to attract the right workers with the right skills. Globally, an estimated 169 million workers live and are employed in a foreign country 4 —some 4.9% of the world’s 3.5 billion-strong workforce.5

Most migrant workers relocate to find employment or boost their income, and those from emerging markets can often substantially increase their earnings. For example, the average monthly wage in Hong Kong 6 in 2024 is almost 10 times that of the Philippines.7

These migrants often send money home to their loved ones. Such peer-to-peer (P2P) payments account for the lion’s share of remittances in East Asia and the Pacific, which are estimated to have reached US$133 billion in 2023.8 However, high fees and hidden charges typically erode the value of these remittances for individuals and their families. Moreover, senders are also concerned about the security of these transactions.

To help overcome these obstacles, Visa Direct enables money movement to cards, accounts and wallets in over 195 markets. For example, Standard Chartered Hong Kong collaborates with Visa Direct to enable rapid money movement to accounts internationally. The service increases the speed and predictability of remittances, while also reducing the cost of these transactions.

Leveraging Visa’s seamless payments network, bank customers can transfer funds internationally to family members in near real-time 9 —transparently, cost-effectively and reliably—giving them full control of their global money movement, all within the safety of their Standard Chartered mobile app and Visa’s secure global network.

Scaling
Businesses

Consider, for example, an apparel brand based in Indonesia that has a thriving global online business. The company must make payments in numerous currencies to pay suppliers and fund campaigns in various markets, and also receives revenue from customers and distributors in different currencies—all while paying staff in the local currency. This situation is typical of many companies in the Asia-Pacific region.

2 women talking work while holding a tablet

Increased digitalization, growing use of digital payment solutions and the need for efficient cross-border payment mechanisms are spurring the rapid growth of business-to-business (B2B) payments. The market is on course to reach US$241.8 trillion by 2031,10 double its value in 2022.

Boosting B2B Payments for Greater Efficiency

But facilitating international payments can be difficult. High transaction fees often beset cross-border payments, and traditional banking systems can be slow, especially for international transfers, impeding cash flow and hindering business operations. In addition, the transfer of large amounts typically must be done in-person at a bank.

Safeguarding funds from cyber threats is also critical, especially for digital wallets and online accounts. In a recent survey, 80% of US companies said they experienced payments fraud in 2023,11 and a third of organizations surveyed said they were unable to recover funds lost to fraud.

To improve global payments and address bottlenecks, OFX partnered with Visa Direct, enhancing speed, accuracy, and control for cross-border transactions. This partnership builds on OFX’s existing strengths in bill pay automation, cloud accounting integrations, collections, and FX conversions. By integrating with Visa Direct, OFX is able to strenghthen its international payments capabilities with improved transparency and precision for small, medium, and corporate clients.

OFX also provides businesses with advanced accounts payable controls, budgeting, and expense management tools, helping them to streamline financial operations. The multi-currency account offering further empowers businesses to focus on growth, backed by enhanced automation and financial control.

This partnership strengthens OFX’s global capabilities, delivering a scalable platform that meets the evolving needs of businesses worldwide.

The Rise
of the Gig
Economy

Man clicking images on a boat with a camera

Dan creates travel content for his social media accounts, turning a hobby into a source of income with a growing audience.

closeup of phone screen showing a multi-currency wallet transaction

Dan’s fanbase is global, donating in multiple currencies. Like so many content creators, Dan needs quick access and currency conversions to keep going.

That’s why Dan chooses the payout option enabled by Visa Direct. Its vast network and currency conversion capabilities allows Dan to get his money quickly, so he can go where he needs to be.

Strengthening the Gig Economy With Better B2C Payments

Gig economy workers have benefited tremendously from digitalization. In particular, for musicians, dancers, artists, gamers and more, livestreaming allows them to share their talent. And while some people stream for fun, many stream for income.

Streaming can be highly lucrative. Content is monetized through user subscriptions and streams, product sponsorships and viewer tips. The global livestreaming market is forecast to grow to six times its size in 2023 to US$256.5 billion in 2032,12 while in Asia, music and video streaming should soon surpass US$60 billion in revenue.13

Many streamers have accumulated fans around the world. These fans comment, tip streamers and suggest content that they would like to see or hear. Yet cross-border business-to-consumer (B2C) payments come with challenges. Depending on the platform, streamers may experience significant delays in receiving their earnings, which can have a huge impact on their lives. In addition, processing these earnings usually incurs high transaction fees, as well as currency conversion costs if sourced overseas.

Singapore-based streaming platform BIGO understands the anxiety that content creators face when it comes to being paid promptly—and it knows that many streamers are willing to switch to platforms that offer real-time payouts.

This prompted BIGO to partner with Visa Direct, which enables BIGO’s content creators to cash out their BIGO wallet to a Visa debit card.

This partnership makes these transactions more secure and convenient, and ensures that content creators receive payments within a few days. Content production is now more effective, and BIGO says that the motivation for content output has been greatly stimulated.

Bigo Live

Visa Direct:
Move Money
Your Way

Through its reach, expertise, acquisitions and technology, Visa Direct is taking the money movement experience to the next level. Individuals, businesses and governments can now quickly, easily and securely move money in 160 currencies across 195+ markets to over 11 billion cards, accounts and wallets. With collect, hold, convert and send capabilities, Visa Direct is your partner in helping clients shape the future of how people, businesses and governments alike move money.

0+
Markets

Navigate cross-border transaction across 195+ markets without have to worry about regulatory challenges.

0
Currencies

Rely on the vast network of Visa Direct, send money in real-time, without a need of your own payment network.

0 billion+
Endpoints

Cards, account and wallets are powered by Visa Direct’s safe and secured network.

Don't get left behind as global payments grow

Real-time payments raise expectations, but cross-border experiences still fall short. Explore how the ecosystem can turn this challenge into opportunity in our Modern Money Movement white paper.

Download Now

References

¹Currencycloud ²Capgemini ³Visa ⁴ILO

⁵Statista ⁶Trading Economics ⁷Outsource Accelerator ⁸World Bank

⁹ Visa requires Fast Funds enabled issuers to make funds available to their recipient cardholders within a maximum of 30 minutes of approving the transaction. Actual fund availability varies by receiving financial institution.

¹⁰Skyquest ¹¹AFP ¹²Market Research Store ¹³Statista

Money movement solution Visa Direct works hard to make every transaction, whether locally or overseas, a journey of trust and reliability.

Customers clearly want a fast and easy-to-use service.

What are some of the most exciting developments, and how are these innovations helping people and businesses?

A LifelineAcrossBorders

Supporting Migrant Workers With Enhanced P2P Payments

ScalingBusinesses

Boosting B2B Payments for Greater Efficiency

The Riseof the GigEconomy