How fintechs facilitate cross-border payments for SMEs

Cross-border payments, whether by individuals or large corporations, play a crucial role in today’s global economy, with many studies, including one by the World Economic Forum, the Switzerland-based non-profit foundation, estimating that their value will reach US$250 trillion by 2027 – an increase of 60 per cent in a decade.

For Visa Direct, one of the world’s leading digital payment networks, which provides international money transfer services across Visa’s global network, business-to-business (B2B) trade payments in Hong Kong, Singapore, mainland China, India and Australia represent a market size of about US$30 trillion.

Rhidoi Krishnakumar, head of Visa Direct in Asia-Pacific, says this market has the potential to grow to US$60 trillion by 2030. “The global landscape for cross-border business payments is rapidly evolving, driven by new technologies, payment networks and innovative alternatives like digital assets,” he says.

Advertisement Krishnakumar’s role at the company is to drive strategic growth across the Asia-Pacific region by offering solutions for both its clients and partners. “Our mission is to transform money movement for our clients – making it simpler, faster and more secure through a single-entry point that provides access to a range of money movement solutions,” he says.

Advertisement In the second video to feature Visa Direct in South China Morning Post’s Insider Talk series offering the insights of global business leaders, Krishnakumar looks at the “pain points” faced by small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in Asia-Pacific when transferring funds internationally, as well as the trends that are shaping the region’s cross-border payment landscape.

“In B2B payments, growth is driven by e-commerce and SME trade flows, but businesses still face pain points – delivery times, documentation, regulatory challenges and currency volatility,” he says. “Businesses are seeking faster, transparent, secure and cost-effective ways to transfer money across borders.” Companies also face increasing operational costs as ever-changing trade policies have resulted in higher tariffs, especially between mainland China and the United States, he says.

Some businesses have moved their production to Southeast Asia, which has also led to higher costs. Advertisement “Companies are adapting by diversifying supply chains and renegotiating contracts, but there is a growing need for fast, transparent and resilient payment solutions,” he says.

“Visa Direct addresses these needs by enabling [near] instant, secure cross-border payouts, supporting over 11 billion endpoints [the final step in a transaction] in over 195 countries and territories and over 160 currencies.” Visa’s “Money Travels: 2025 Digital Remittances Adoption Report”, published in August 2025, which surveyed more than 44,000 people worldwide to examine how consumers send money abroad, found that digital apps are now the globally preferred method for sending and receiving money – a trend driven by the need for speed, security and convenience.

Krishnakumar says that the Asia-Pacific region’s high adoption rate for digital payments and mobile wallets has helped to drive innovative cross-border payment services. “Enabling safe and seamless money movement across all types of payment flows is crucial in this region,” he says.

Advertisement Visa Direct uses artificial intelligence (AI) to detect and prevent fraud, as well as security measures such as encryption and tokenisation, involving the use of digital “tokens” instead of private and sensitive data. “One exciting area is the use of stablecoins – digital currencies pegged to stable assets like the US dollar – which can facilitate faster and more cost-effective cross-border transactions,” Krishnakumar says.