Historically, China has been a difficult market to enter. However, a wave of recent partnerships is helping drive the movement of money.

Western Union saw a mixed quarter in Q1 25, with revenue falling -6% YoY to $984m due to slowing contributions from Iraq and changing migration patterns.

This week saw Money20/20 Asia, where we launched a joint report and spoke for ‘From Fragmentation to Frictionless: Cross-Border Payments in 2025 and Beyond’.

This week saw the publication of our first report produced in partnership with Money20/20: How Will Asia’s Money Move In The Future? 2025’s View Of 2035.

While the recent market turmoil has put a pause on potential IPOs, there has been considerable acquisition activity among payments players.

Citi has announced its Q1 2025 results, and while overall revenue increased 3% YoY, its cross-border transaction value saw greater growth at 5%.

In November, Swift will cease support for legacy MT messaging, putting an end to the coexistence between it and new ISO 20022-compliant MX messaging.

Stablecoins have been attracting growing interest from the cross-border payments industry in recent months, with activity from a broad range of companies.

Last week, rumours began to circulate that Revolut was launching an employer of record service that would build on Revolut People.