New FXC Intelligence research provides an update on the total addressable market for cross-border payments, payments revenues and take rates.

London, 5 March 2026 – FXC Intelligence, the world’s leading provider of cross-border payments data and intelligence, announced the cross-border payments total addressable market (TAM) reached $208tn in 2025. But while the market continues to scale, the structure of monetisation across the market is evolving.

Cultural shifts and geopolitical events are reshaping demand, as trade diversion alters corridor patterns; digital services are supporting growth in B2B services payments; and the expansion of the gig economy is increasing demand for scalable B2C payout capabilities.

FXC Intelligence’s latest research, ‘Cross-Border Payments Global Market Sizing Report 2026: Flows, revenue pools, take rates’, provides the most comprehensive assessment yet of how revenue is generated across the cross-border ecosystem. It finds that flow growth and revenue growth do not necessarily move in lockstep.

Wholesale payments continue to dominate global cross-border flows, representing the majority share of total volume. However, retail segments generate a disproportionately large share of the industry’s revenue pool due to structurally higher take rates.

Within retail, revenue contribution varies by use case: 

  • C2C payments have the highest take rate.
  • B2C and C2B have comparatively elevated monetisation levels.
  • B2B take rates differ significantly between large enterprises and SMEs.

The result is a very different revenue profile from the flow picture: for example, B2B SME flows generated the largest single retail revenue pool ($191bn) despite not being the largest flow segment. Notably, between 2022 and 2025, every segment of the retail cross-border payments market saw a drop in take rates, meaning the revenue pool has grown more slowly than flows. 

“The practical implication for providers is clear: volume growth on its own is not necessarily a reliable proxy for revenue growth,” said Daniel Webber, CEO & Founder at FXC Intelligence. “What increasingly determines revenue capture is corridor and segment mix. Take-rate trends vary meaningfully across use cases and regions, so tracking flow expansion without understanding how pricing and revenue pools are evolving can give an incomplete picture. As providers enter new corridors or target new customer segments, revenue dynamics need to be assessed alongside volume opportunity.”

The report highlights that revenue take rates differ materially by geography, influenced by FX volatility, liquidity, regulatory complexity and operational infrastructure. These structural differences shape both growth trajectories and monetisation profiles.

Access the report here.

About FXC Intelligence

FXC Intelligence is the industry leader in cross-border payments data and intelligence. Our data is used by a number of international bodies, including the World Bank and the Financial Stability Board. The world’s biggest banks, payments and big tech companies use our critical data to make vital decisions that shape their day-to-day operations, product development and strategy. Interested and want to find out more? Sign up to our newsletter here.