William Blair’s annual Money Remittances: 2024 Marks Four Consecutive Years of Pricing Stability report is an effort to provide clarity into key pricing trends within the massive, complex money remittance market by leveraging data from the World Bank. The analysis, led by Cristopher Kennedy, CFA, financial services and technology research analyst, assessed year-over-year trends across the overall industry, as well as by provider type, channel, and payment method. In addition, the report provides a deep dive analysis on pricing trends by channel and provider in the four largest U.S. outbound corridors.
In this year’s report, our analysis suggests that 2024 marked the fourth consecutive year of relatively stable to increasing prices within the money remittance market. While pricing remains below pre-COVID-19 pandemic levels, our analyst believes four years of stability should help ease investor concerns that money remittance pricing is a race to the proverbial bottom. Other key macro trends include:
- A key driver of reducing pricing from money transfer operators (MTOs) from pre-pandemic levels has been the growing adoption of digital remittance options
- MTOs need to balance operating costs with the value that they provide to their customers (i.e., price)—in general, lower operating costs can support lower prices
- The transaction fee and foreign-exchange margin components of remittance pricing remained relatively stable in 2024
- Brand and overall strategy are key contributors of pricing within the money remittance market
As is the case across all payments, the money remittances market is being disrupted by technology, though the shift toward digital remains in its early stages. Digital adoption varies by market and sender/receiver. Similar to broader market estimates, measuring the level of digital adoption within remittances is challenging.
For more information about our financial services and technology research, please contact us or your William Blair representative.