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The news: Western Union will acquire International Money Express (Intermex) in a deal with a total equity and enterprise value of $500 million, per a press release. Our take: Increasing its retail footprint in the US positions can help Western Union capture more remittance outflow from the US, which we forecast to hit $92.58 billion this year.

The news: SoFi will relaunch its crypto investing platform and will introduce self-serve international money transfers powered by blockchain technology by year鈥檚 end, per a press release. Our take: As customers warm to crypto transactions, remittance providers stand to score valuable volume鈥攁nd customer loyalty鈥攊f they style their businesses around what remittance senders want most: cheap, convent, and fast transactions.

Remittances represent a large share of global payments and will keep growing鈥攁lthough at a flat rate. Traditional money transfer organizations have to fight harder for a share of the prize as digital-only entrants have stepped up the competition.

In the wake of slowing remittance volume, the company鈥檚 financial media network can help it diversify and boost revenues

In the fourth of five reports in our 鈥淧ayments Ecosystem鈥� collection, we look at what鈥檚 influencing growth across P2P, remittance, bill pay, payroll, and B2B transactions鈥攁nd what it means for payment providers.

Possible remittance play: Pay with Crypto would likely connect with consumers looking to send money home to family and friends overseas at more competitive rates. Other payment players have recently tossed their hats back into the remittance ring, like SoFi re-releasing self-serve international money transfers powered by on-chain technology.

Simplified remittances. Cross-border payments play a crucial role in Mexicans鈥� financial health. According to our forecast, $70.14 billion in remittances will flow into Mexico this year. They made up roughly 4% of Mexico鈥檚 GDP in 2023, per Banco de M茅xico and World Bank data. Fintech innovation around remittances has surged to help facilitate these flows.

Despite the remittance industry鈥檚 digital transformation, Western Union is banking on stores remaining a key component of its business