In 2021, it was easier to predict the top fintech trends. After all, the pandemic accelerated the adoption of fintechs. B2C services dominated as consumers took to cashless payments. While our top receiving corridors for 2021 remain roughly the same, with the Philippines and Vietnam again making up the top 2, over 90% of the payments are now online.
Moving forward, more and more businesses will revamp their services to cater to consumers acclimatised to online shopping and payment services like “Buy Now, Pay Later”. As a business, what can you expect from the B2B cross-border payments industry? Here are the top 3 fintech trends in 2022 according to us.
Crypto payments and On-Demand Liquidity
If you’ve followed the news carefully, you’d notice that Ripple agreed to acquire 40% of Tranglo in March 2021. One of the main reasons for this, according to the leading provider of enterprise blockchain and crypto solutions for cross-border payments, is to meet growing demands for a more robust payment infrastructure in the region.
The partnership heralded crypto settlement using XRP and On-Demand Liquidity (ODL) (a Ripple service that allows qualified partners to do away with prefunding, maximising working capital) in the Southeast Asia region.
ODL has seen record growth: international ODL transactions grew more than 25x since Q3 2020. We are optimistic ODL will see record deployment rate in 2022 as cash remains king.
Watch this space for even more exciting updates in Q1.
B2B takes the spotlight
B2C offerings understandably dominated international markets in the last 2 years, but there’s reason to believe that B2B services will rise as margins grow thinner. In fact, many B2C companies have launched B2B products, targeting a new segment of international business buyers keen to generate more revenue for the same amount of capital.
We expect B2B fintechs to grow as consumers and businesses look to niche offerings to meet their specific needs.
Gig economy
We wrote this about the gig economy, specifically on the need for businesses to enlist the help of a cross-border specialist to pay their global freelancers. Many companies are diversifying their core products and services, using global freelancers to fill the gap.
With over USD455 billion in transactions needing to be moved around by 2023, we expect the stabilisation of key fintech innovations that allow for mass payouts that are stable, direct and instantaneous.
Final thoughts
Fintech has been growing for years, and we have no reason to believe that it will stop in 2022. While we have boldly predicted these top fintech trends in 2022, breakthroughs will bring forth a new age of revolutionary fintech products. Key players that occupy niche positions will look to solidify their market share by focusing on improving user experience. We will do the same, and make global payments even more reliable and accessible.
