Examining venture opportunities in cross-border transactions, specifically focusing on investments during Q3 of 2024
In Q3 2024, the cross-border payments industry witnessed a surge of innovation and growth, driven by the adoption of real-time payments (RTP), the integration of blockchain technology, and strategic moves by major players.
One of the key trends in Q3 2024 was the rapid adoption of RTP, which is transforming cross-border payments by reducing intermediaries, cutting costs, and enabling faster, more transparent transactions. Collaborations between RTP networks and SWIFT’s Global Payments Innovation (GPI) are accelerating this trend. Blockchain platforms like Ripple and Stellar continue to facilitate instant, peer-to-peer global payments, challenging traditional bank-dominated flows.
The EU’s Instant Payments Regulation, effective from 2024, mandates 24/7/365 instant euro credit transfers with zero surcharges, pushing payment service providers towards faster and more standardized cross-border payments within SEPA. Preparations are underway to meet compliance for UK and non-euro area providers serving EU customers, indicating a drive towards efficiency and inclusivity.
The growth in cross-border transactions was evident in the Q2 2025 cross-border transaction volumes reported by Visa, which showed a 13% year-over-year increase despite currency fluctuations, reflecting rapid growth particularly in emerging markets and due to normalized travel. Visa’s 2024 global payment volume increased 6.76% to $13.2 trillion, underscoring expanding cross-border activity. Visa’s Q3 2024 earnings beat estimates, with a 14% increase in international transaction revenues, driven by higher cross-border volumes.
Cross-border bank credit also continued expanding, with a 7% year-on-year growth rate at Q1 2025, reaching $34.7 trillion in global stock. Significant growth is driven by non-bank financial institutions, especially denominated in US dollars and euros, underpinning increased liquidity for cross-border transactions.
Major players in the industry have been strategically investing to enhance security and innovation in cross-border payments. For instance, Visa has been investing in AI technologies and stablecoins. The London-based A2A platform Form3 closed its $60m Series C extension in Q3 2024, with support from British Patient Capital. PayPal Ventures made an additional, undisclosed investment in Chaos Labs in Q3 2024.
Acquisitions have been a common approach in the investment landscape, with companies like Mastercard acquiring cybersecurity company Recorded Future for $2.65bn in September 2024, saying the acquisition adds end-to-end cyber defence through Recorded Future’s AI-driven threat intelligence. The acquisition by Flywire could enable a full-suite order-to-cash process, targeting worldwide finance departments. MENA-based open banking platform Tarabut acquired UK-based A2A payment provider Vyne in Q3 2024, anticipating new complementary regulations in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.
The international digital payment platform Antom acquired omnichannel payment platform MultiSafePay in July 2024. Flywire acquired Invoiced in August 2024, which will expand its B2B payments solution with an automated A/R system. Visa also made an acquisition in September 2024, acquiring Featurespace, an AI-driven real-time payments protection company.
In summary, Q3 2024 cross-border payment trends focus on the rapid adoption of real-time and blockchain-enabled payments, regulatory harmonization in key regions like the EU, robust volume growth by global processors such as Visa, and continued expansion in credit liquidity supporting international trade and finance. Strategic technology investments by major players underpin ongoing transformation, although regulatory complexity and security remain critical challenges.
[1] Source: [Link to the source] [2] Source: [Link to the source] [3] Source: [Link to the source] [4] Source: [Link to the source] [5] Source: [Link to the source]
Investing in AI technologies and stablecoins is a strategy employed by major players in the cross-border payments industry, as illustrated by Visa's investments. The rapid growth and transformation of cross-border payments are also facilitated by data-and-cloud-computing technology, as seen in the collaborations between RTP networks and SWIFT’s Global Payments Innovation (GPI).
