FXC Intelligence, a data platform specializing in the cross-border payment and e-commerce sectors, has released its annual Cross-Border Payments 100 list, highlighting the 100 most influential players in global payments.
Among the 2025 honorees, 13 companies come from Asia-Pacific (APAC), underscoring the region’s growing impact on cross-border transactions.
Released on May 08, the 2025 Cross-Border Payments 100 recognizes industry leaders across the sector. These companies span every segment of the market, from long-established remittances players and banks to neobanks, business-to-business (B2B) platforms, stablecoin providers and regional specialists, and are powering global trade.
The 13 APAC companies featured this year span a diverse range of industries, including telecoms, financial institutions, tech giants, and fintech startups. They illustrate the region’s increasing strategic importance in the cross-border payments landscape.
APAC’s top cross-border payment leaders
Airtel Money (India)
Airtel Money is a digital wallet by Airtel Payment Bank, a subsidiary of Indian telco company Bharti Airtel. Launched as a pilot in 2011, the service allows users to make payments, transfer money and perform other financial transactions using the “Airtel Thanks App” or USSD.
Bharti Airtel serves over 550 million customers across 15 countries, and has collaborated with leading money transfer operating companies to enable real-time payments across millions of bank accounts in India and Africa.
Airtel Money has been recognized in the Cross-Border Payments 100 list every year since its inception, highlighting its sustained relevance in global payments.
Airwallex (Australia)
Founded in 2015 in Melbourne and now headquartered in Singapore, Airwallex is a fintech company offering financial services and software-as-a-service (SaaS). The company’s platform provides cross-border payments and financial services to businesses through a proprietary banking network and its application programming interface (API). It also offers services and products to businesses such as accounts, expense cards, and payroll.
Airwallex claims more than 150,000 business customers globally, including brands such as Brex, Rippling, Navan, Qantas and SHEIN. The company is currently valued at US$5.5 billion, according to CB Insights.
Like Airtel Money, Airwallex has been featured in the Cross-Border Payments 100 list every year since its inception.
Ant Group (China)
Formerly known as Ant Financial and Alipay, Ant Group is a fintech leader and affiliate of Chinese multinational tech company Alibaba. The group owns Alipay, China’s largest digital payments platform, which connects to international e-wallet platforms through cross-border digital payments solution Alipay+.
Alipay boasts more than 1.6 billion users, while its Aliplay+ service connects more than 35 digital wallets to over 90 million merchants in 66 markets.
Ant Group has been featured in the list for all seven years, as well, underscoring its leadership in cross-border payments and digital financial services.
DBS Bank (Singapore)
DBS Bank is a Singaporean multinational banking and financial services corporation. It is one of the “Big Three” local banks in Singapore, and among the largest banks in Southeast Asia.
DBS Bank serves more than 12 million customers in 19 markets. It also offers payment, foreign exchange (FX) and banking services to other banks and fintech companies in the sector. In particular, its DBS Globesend solution for cross-border payments spans 132 currencies and 190 countries.
DBS Bank is also a participating bank in PayNow, Singapore’s consumer real-time payments service. PayNow is connected to the likes of Malaysia’s DuitNow and India’s Unified Payment Interface (UPI) system, enabling cross-border instant payments.
DBS Bank has been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for all seven years as well.
LianLian Global (China)
Founded in 2004 and headquartered in China, LianLian Global is a leading cross-border payment and financial services provider, specializing in helping e-commerce businesses and entrepreneurs operate seamlessly across international markets. It is the flagship brand of LianLian DigiTech, a Chinese fintech company publicly listed on the Hong Kong Stock Exchange.
LianLian Global offers a comprehensive suite of services designed to facilitate international commerce. This suite includes a cross-border digital wallet, card acceptance solutions and FX. Its network spans over 100 countries and regions, supporting over 5.9 million companies worldwide.
LianLian Global has been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for all seven years too.
Nium (Singapore)
Founded in 2014 as Instarem, Nium is a global leader in real-time, cross-border payments. The company provides a payments infrastructure designed to transform how banks, fintechs, and businesses everywhere collect, convert, and disburse funds instantly across borders.
Nium operates a payout network that supports 100 currencies and which spans more than 220 markets, 100 of which in real-time. Funds can be disbursed to accounts, wallets, and cards and collected locally in 35 markets. Furthermore, Nium has a growing card issuance business that’s already available in 34 countries.
Nium is a fintech unicorn worth US$1.4 billion, according to CB Insights. The startup has been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for all seven years, too.
OFX (Australia)
Founded in 1998 as OzForex, OFX is an international money transfer and FX company headquartered in Sydney, Australia. The company provides online money transfer services to individuals, businesses, and e-commerce merchants, enabling them to send money internationally in over 50 currencies and at competitive exchange rates and low fees.
OFX relies on a “digital + human” business model, providing 24/7 client support to complement its global digital platform. The company claims it has managed over US$1 million transfers, totaling more than US$66 billion.
OFX has also been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for all seven years.
PingPong (China)
Founded in 2015, PingPong is a leading cross-border payments platform trusted by startups and global corporations alike to send, receive, and manage money around the world. The company has processed more than US$250 billion and holds 60 financial licenses worldwide, collaborating with major banks like Citi, MUFG, and JP Morgan.
PingPong has been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for all seven years.
SBI Remit (Japan)
Founded in 2010, SBI Remit is a Japan-based financial services company specializing in international money transfers, offering fast, secure, and low-cost remittance solutions. A subsidiary of SBI Holdings, the company allows users to send money conveniently through the internet, ATMs, and even convenience stores.
With a strategic partnership with MoneyGram and other financial institutions, SBI Remit enables transfers to over 200 countries and regions. The company was an early adopter of distributed ledger technology (DLT), teaming up in 2017 with Ripple Labs and pioneering blockchain-based remittances from Japan to Thailand and Vietnam.
SBI Remit is one of the new additions in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100, making its first appearance on the list in 2025, and reflecting its growing role in the world remittance scene.
Sunrate (Singapore)
Founded in 2016 and headquartered in Singapore, Sunrate is an intelligent global payment and treasury management platform designed to help businesses operate and scale across over 190 countries and regions. It offers intelligent financial solutions through its proprietary technology, robust APIs, and extensive global network.
Sunrate enables near-instant cross-border payments with transparent pricing, enhanced security through encrypted transaction processing, and smart routing for efficient transfers. Its fully digital platform also streamlines cash flow management and reconciliation, providing real-time visibility into global financial operations.
Sunrate has been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for two consecutive years, affirming its foothold in the sector and its growth.
Tencent (China)
Founded in 1998 and headquartered in Shenzhen, China, Tencent is a multinational tech conglomerate and one of the world’s largest companies in the Internet and tech sector. With a core mission of “technology for good,” Tencent connects over a billion users globally through its popular communication and social platforms like Weixin, China’s largest messaging app, and its international counterpart WeChat.
These apps play a central role in daily activities, from chatting and shopping, to accessing transport. They also serve as key platforms for digital payments via Weixin Pay and WeChat Pay, allowing users to pay bills, send money and make payments.
Tencent has been listed in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 for all seven years, underscoring the company’s influence in not just cross-border payments but also the broader fintech space.
Thunes (Singapore)
Headquartered in Singapore, Thunes is a global payment infrastructure company that enables real-time cross-border transactions in over 130 countries and 80 currencies. Through its proprietary Direct Global Network, Thunes connects to 7 billion mobile wallets, bank accounts, and 15 billion cards via more than 320 payment methods, including GCash, M-Pesa, AliPay, and WeChat Pay.
At the core of Thunes’ offering is its SmartX Treasury System and Fortress Compliance Platform, which provide enhanced control, visibility, and regulatory assurance across all transactions. This technology-driven approach enables Thunes to support a wide variety of use cases including gig economy payouts, e-wallet interoperability, and financial inclusion efforts.
Thunes has been featured in the FXC Intelligence Cross-Border Payments 100 list for all seven years.
XTransfer (China)
Founded in 2017, XTransfer is a Shanghai-based fintech company specializing in cross-border financial and risk management services for small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).
XTransfer has built a global multi-currency settlement network backed by intelligent, automated risk management infrastructure. Its platform provides SMEs with affordable, accessible, and efficient international payment and FX services.
XTransfer claims over 600,000 enterprise clients globally. The company holds regulatory licenses in key markets including China, the US, UK, Netherlands, Singapore, Canada, and Australia, making it a leader in China’s cross-border finance sector.
XTransfer is another new addition in the Cross-Border Payments 100 list, marking its emergence as a key player in global money transfers.
Featured image: Edited by Fintech News Singapore, based on image by callmetak via Freepik
