How Affordability & Innovation Are Transforming Remittances in 2025

Every day, millions of people around the world face a common challenge: moving money across borders quickly, safely, and affordably. Over my 20-year career in payments and financial services, I’ve seen how long delays, opaque costs and complex financial systems negatively impact consumers.

Today, consumers are demanding more. They want transactions that are fast, affordable, and seamless—experiences as intuitive as sending a text message or ordering a ride. Yet for too many, remittances remain slow, expensive, and difficult to access.

It’s a challenge that extends to small businesses too. Despite thriving regional trade, small and medium enterprises (SMBs) in Australia face hurdles such as tighter employee laws, resource shortages, late payments, and cashflow challenges. As these businesses grapple with the complexities of cross-border payments, the call for faster, safer, and more cost-effective solutions has never been louder.

As we step into 2025, the opportunity to address these issues has never been more pressing—or more solvable, with fintech poised to meet the challenge. According to a new report from Mandala, the fintech industry drove $9 billion in benefits for small businesses, with nearly 30% reporting growth after adopting fintech payment solutions.

Australia’s payments landscape in 2025

In 2025, the convergence of speed, ease, and affordability will define what’s possible in payments and remittances. Here are three key trends shaping the future of remittances and cross-border transactions in Australia.

Blockchain’s role in driving transparency for cross-border payments

One of the major pain points in bank transfers is the lack of transparency. Disguised as bank fees and unexplained charges, banks typically deduct a big chunk from a sender’s transfer amount. Alarmingly, neither the sender nor the receiver is aware of these charges until the transaction is processed and the recipient ends up with less than what was intended.

Digital remittances have already alleviated this problem by offering faster, more affordable, and transparent solutions. Blockchain technology has the potential to build on this progress, reducing processing times and costs while providing complete transparency at every step. Instarem, for instance, has adopted Ripple’s blockchain payment solutions to enhance treasury operations and processes, significantly improving efficiency for our extensive base of SME clients.

Still, blockchain technology is not immune to risks such as fraud, regulatory uncertainty, and data security vulnerabilities. It is therefore crucial for the industry to strike a balance between blockchain’s efficiencies and implementing robust safeguards to protect users.

Ai will transform payment systems

Generative Ai is revolutionising the payments ecosystem. Longstanding innovations like voice-based remittances have for many years enabled users to initiate transactions with simple commands, bringing unparalleled accessibility. Today, AI-powered chatbots are streamlining customer support, resolving issues around the clock, and driving cost efficiencies.

Looking ahead, virtual remittance assistants could further automate complex processes like payment tracking and error detection. These Ai-driven tools are also pivotal for financial inclusion, particularly for underserved communities, by making payment systems more intuitive and accessible.

However, despite the transformative potential of Ai, adoption of the technology among local businesses remains low. Even though 60% of Australia’s CEOs surveyed are aware that generative Ai will revolutionise their business operations in the next three years, less than 25% have started implementing these technologies.

Increased cross-border partnerships

With cross-border payments on the rise in Asia-Pacific, interoperability is gradually becoming a standard rather than an exception, allowing businesses to transact seamlessly across borders. This collaborative approach is setting the stage for a more connected and equitable global payments ecosystem.

It is encouraging to see Australia taking the lead as an innovator in the international payments landscape. Beyond contributing to the G20’s roadmap to make cross-border payments more cost-efficient, faster and more accessible, the Reserve Bank of Australia (RBA) is also exploring the potential of linking Australia’s New Payments Platform (NPP) with fast payment systems in other countries. This can facilitate overall growth and commerce, unlocking new revenue streams for SMBs in Australia by connecting them to consumers or partners from global markets. 

The future of global payments is now

The convergence of blockchain, Ai, and cross-border collaboration is charting a new course for global payments. Yet, at the heart of this transformation lies a simple but powerful vision: making financial services faster, easier, and more inclusive for everyone.

As we look to the future, the stakes couldn’t be higher. Whether it’s an individual sending money home to their near and dear ones or a small business scaling across borders, innovation must translate into meaningful impact. The tools and technologies to solve these challenges exist, the end goal is bringing them together to create a system that works for everyone.

Michael Minassian is VP & head at Instarem APAC.

Last Updated on February 8, 2025 by Michael Minassian