Nowadays, the world is more connected than ever. With air travel becoming incredibly common in the last few decades, people now have the ability to travel between continents separated by thousands of miles of seawater with little difficulty. If one has the means to do so, an urgent trip to visit family members in a different country can be fulfilled in a matter of days.
Moreover, the contribution of technological advancements such as the internet and social media networks have contributed to making our vast planet feel even more like a “global village”. There are over a dozen applications designed for communication in the mainstream market today, with many more still being developed. Applications such as Zoom (NASDAQ:ZM), Google Meet (NASDAQ:GOOG), and Discord have made it possible for employees of the same company to communicate with one another without ever leaving their homes. The freelancing industry has also greatly benefitted form this, with platforms such as Fiverr and Upwork becoming incredibly common. Instead of working for a specific company, any person can sell their skill to an interested buyer for a fixed price. In this way, talented people from all over the world are able to get a chance to earn money for themselves, regardless of where they live. In addition to buying services, people can also buy a huge range of products from online stores. With just a simple tap on a screen, users are able to buy products worth hundreds of dollars from the comfort of their homes.
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Naturally, as people from across the world become more connected with one another, the need for methods to transfer money began to resurface. Some required a foolproof way to send part of their salary to family back home. Others needed a safe medium through which to pay employees living in a different country or state. Once money is transferred, families or individuals can use the money to buy assets, invest in real estate, or pay back a loan. To see who to consult regarding these decisions, check out the list of 16 largest financial services companies in the world. But before these decisions can be made, there must be some process in which money is safely transferred. Money transfer companies have played a huge role in facilitating these interactions.
This brings us to our list of biggest money transfer companies in the world. The money transfer market is huge, and only growing. In 2018, the value of transactions related to money transfers amounted to more than $64 billion. This number is expected to grow significantly and even achieve a value of around $143 billion by 2020 alone.. However, it is possible that the coronavirus pandemic affects this number negatively, as remittances to developing countries have declined considerably since the virus hit. Alexandra Klopfer Hernandez, a spokesperson from the World Bank, stated, “We predict a further decline of remittances because of high global unemployment among migrants and the economic crisis.”
Despite suffering a loss in business because of the pandemic, money transfer companies still hold great importance for many users all over the world. For this reason, we have prepared a list of the biggest money transfer companies in the world. To prepare our ranking, we have used Owler as our source, ranking the companies based on revenues of the company, as well as mentioning assets, profits and employees of the company where applicable. We excluded companies from our list that don’t operate in Asia. So now let’s take a look at the 15 biggest money transfer companies in the world, starting with number 15:
15. CurrencyFair
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 8
Total employees of the company in 2019: 70
Operating for over 10 years, CurrencyFair is a solution for expatriates looking for a cheap and simple way to move money to and from their original countries. This money transfer company grew from a mere conception to a global organization, now boasting more than $10 million worth of exchanges since its birth.
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14. TransferMate
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 20
Total employees of the company in 2019: 250
Founded in 2010, TransferMate is a part of TaxBack, a global financial services giant. It provides an easy, simple, cost-effective solution to transfer money on an international level. TransferMate attempts to solve the challenges for companies making cross border payments, including delays and costs. TransferMate has also collaborated with banks and regulators, securing licenses and managing regulations internationally.
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13. Azimo
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 33
Total employees of the company in 2019: 160
Founded in 2012, Azimo is a money transfer company with reach to over 200 countries and territories around the world. Their mission is to democratize financial services and make them affordable and available to all its users. Today, the IOS and Android application of Azimo are award-winning, with almost a million downloads and 30,000 five star reviews on the App Store and Google Play.
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12. CurrenciesDirect
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 44.1
Total employees of the company in 2019: 173’
On a mission to make money transfer the best it can be, Currencies Direct is a money transfer service that has been around for almost 15 years. Today, the company been authorized by Financial Conduct Authority, recognized by World Economic Forum. In 2020, they won the MoneyAge ‘Money Transfer Provided of the Year’ award.
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11. Remitly
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 80
Total employees of the company in 2019: 800
Remitly is an online money transfer service which primarily operates in the countries United States, United Kingdom, and Canada. They claim they are successful due to their company motto to always keep their services fast, secure, and cheap. Users can transfer money around the world through the both the company’s website and mobile application.
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10. OFX Group Ltd
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 103.61
Total profits of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 11.47
Total employees of the company in 2019: 250
An online international payment service company based in Australia, OFX Group Limited offers both single and recurring money transferring, foreign exchange, and many more services. Their client pool is very diverse, with users from across the globe. OFX Group Limited provides its services to both private clients and to business customers, making it a popular choice.
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09. WorldRemit
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 117.5
Total employees of the company in 2019: 1,000
A leading company in mobile money transfers, WorldRemit is an online money transfer business which allows customers to send their money to family and friends using a variety of payment options. They boast a large international network, and send over 180,000 money transfers worldwide every month. The company’s founder, Ismail Ahmed, initially came up with the idea as a student in London in the 1980s, when he wanted to send money to his family in East Africa but was wary about the hassle an agent would bring. His philosophy for the business is to help make the process of money transfer easier for all those who wish to send money home to their loved ones.
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8. MoneyCorp
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 139.7
Total employees of the company in 2019: 788
Aiming to be the first choice for international payments and foreign exchange, MoneyCorp is a popular choice for money transfers across the globe. They boast a diverse customer pool on their website, including global businesses, importers and exporters, online sellers, and personal clients. The company was founded in 1962 and has its headquarters in London, United Kingdom.
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7. TransferWise
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 244.9
Total profits of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 14.1
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,517
Total employees of the company in 2019: 2,200
Based in London, England, TransferWise is an online money transfer service that was founded in 2011 by two Estonian friends, Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann . It is a company with a very large reach, with more than 750 currency routes across the world. A service-oriented company, TransferWise allows people to send money abroad at very low costs. This is possible with their policy to only use real exchange rates and discard hidden fees that may be characteristic of their competitors.
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6. Payoneer
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 300
Total employees of the company in 2019: 1,395
Based in New York, United States, Payoneer is a pioneer in today’s digital world, allowing seamless cross border payments to millions of businesses and professionals. The company empowers business, online sellers, and freelancers to be paid globally with the same ease as they would in a local format. It is one of the most popular money transfer services in the freelancing world today.
5. Stripe
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 450
Total employees of the company in 2019: 2,500
Stripe is a technology company used by business of all sizes. From startups to public companies, all use Stripe software to accept payments and manage their online businesses. Considered as a direct competitor to PayPal, Stripe is becoming increasingly popular with e-commerce websites as a method of online payment.
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4. MoneyGram (NASDAQ: MGI)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,200
Total employees of the company in 2019: 2,200
An international household name, MoneyGram is globally recognized as a cross-border peer to peer payments and money transfer company. Available in 200 countries and territories, of which 70 countries are digitally enabled, MoneyGram claims to enable families to send money quickly and affordably.
2024 UPDATE: Transferwise changed its name to Wise Plc and generated a total of $1.275 billion in revenue in 2023. This would potentially make Wise one of the 5 biggest money transfer companies in the world.
3. Euronet (NASDAQ:EEFT)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,750.1
Total profits of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 346.7
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 4,657.7
Total employees of the company in 2019: 7,700
An industry leader, Euronet provides its financial transaction processing services in approximately 170 countries. The company is based in Leawood, Kansas and offers a number of services, including ATMs, credit/debit services, currency exchange, and other electronic payment services.
Pixabay/Public Domain
2. Western Union (NYSE:WU)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 5,292.1
Total profits of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 1,058.3
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 8,758.5
Total employees of the company in 2019: 11,500
One of the most recognizable money movement and payment services companies in the world, Western Union is a multi-currency, real time money transfer service provider. Western Union makes it possible to move money across worldwide borders for families, businesses, and communities. It is a wire transfer service where transfers of money between bank accounts are often less expensive than sending money for cash pickup. The company is based in Denve, Colarado.
Pixabay/ Public Domain
1. PayPal (NASDAQ:PYPL)
Total revenue of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 17,772
Total profits of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 2,459
Total assets of the company in 2019 (in millions of dollars): 51,333
Total employees of the company in 2019: 23,200
Topping the list of 15 biggest money transfer companies in the world is PayPal, an electronic commerce company that facilitates payments through online transfers. PayPal owns both Venmo and Xoom, which are mobile payment services where account holders transfer funds using the dedicated apps on their phones. PayPal allows this through establishing accounts for each customer on the platform. This account is connected to the particular user’s credit card or checking account. The company is located in San Jose, California and was founded in 1998. The service allows anyone to pay in any of a number of ways, including credit cards, bank accounts, Smart Connect, or PayPal itself without sharing any financial information.
See also: 20 largest insurance companies in the US and 15 largest insurance companies in the world
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This article is originally published at Insider Monkey.