Digital remittances are very popular in APAC: Visa

Visa, a world leader in digital payments, has found that digital applications as the most popular method for sending and receiving remittances, and ease of use, safety, privacy, and security as the top four user experience benefits driving this preference. 

The results, from Visa's annual Money Travels: 2025 Digital Remittances Adoption Report, are based on responses from 44,000 senders and receivers across 20 countries and territories. The report tracks remittance trends around the world, including Asia Pacific, a key region in the US$905 B* global remittance landscape. 

“Remittances have long driven growth across Asia Pacific, uplifting many economies in the region,” said Chavi Jafa, Senior VP, Head of Commercial and Money Movement Solutions, Asia Pacific, Visa. 

“The clear shift to app-based remittances reflects the region’s demographics, the growing prominence of digital payment modes, as well as user preferences for easy, safe and quick ways to send and receive money. This shift is an important one for banks, remitters and fintechs to note as it will shape how they engage and serve evolving consumer expectations.” 

Source: Visa. Clear inflection point for migration to digital remittances in the Asia Pacific region.

Key findings for Asia Pacific include:

Digital apps remain the most popular and are perceived as the fastest option

· Digital apps are the most-preferred channel to send/receive remittances in Asia Pacific, with usage rates reaching its highest in India (74% to send/76% to receive), the Philippines (74%/66%), and Singapore (70%/75%). 

· Japan is also seeing steady growth, with digital app usage rising by 10% (58%/56%) in 2025 compared to the previous year. 

· Over half of the respondents in the Philippines (73%/73%), Australia (58%/55%), Singapore (67%/66%), and India (55%/53%) perceive digital payments as fastest way to access funds (73%).

· Most Asia Pacific remittance users surveyed report experiencing no issues with sending/receiving digital remittance transfers across all Asian markets, most positively in Australia (48%/53%), Japan (37%/41%), Singapore (36%/37%), and Mainland China (38%/31%, rising significantly since 2024 at +13%/+8%).

Remittance rationale varies across the region

· Contributing to accounts/investments is a primary reason to send/receive remittances across several markets including Mainland China (45%/36%), Singapore (38%/33%), and Japan (27%/23%).

· Sending for general/specific humanitarian need is a key reason for remittances, cited by respondents in Mainland China (45%/33%), India (40%), Singapore (27%), and Australia (25%).

· Sending remittances for an unexpected need was highest in India (44%), the Philippines (41%), and Australia (31%).

· Receiving regular remittances was cited by approximately a third of respondents in the Philippines (39%), Mainland China (34%), and India (30%).

Security and convenience outweigh pain points such as fees

· Digital apps are viewed as the most secure way to send/receive remittances in Asia Pacific, with top responses from India (50%/53%), Australia (49%/45%), and Singapore (44%/42%). 

· Ease of use to send/receive digital remittances was noted most by respondents in Singapore (51%/51%), the Philippines (48%/54%), Japan (47%/42%), and Australia (42%/40%). 

· Digital app fees for sending/receiving remittances were highlighted as a top pain point across Asia Pacific, led by the Philippines (43%/30%), India (36%/33%), and Singapore (32%/32%). Similarly, high fees were noted as the top pain point for sending physical remittances across all markets, with top responses from the Philippines (45%/29%), India (41%/37%), Singapore (38%/30%), Australia (29%/30%).

· Inconvenience and long travel distances remain key challenges for sending physical remittances, with respondents in India (36%) and Mainland China (27%) citing travel as a barrier. In Australia and Singapore, 29% of respondents each noted the physical remittance process as inconvenient and time-consuming alongside concerns about high fees.

· Across most Asia Pacific countries surveyed, the perceived security of physical remittances was low (3%-6%), with Mainland China reporting slightly higher levels of confidence (10%-12%). 

With one billion people relying every year on remittance services and platforms**, Visa continues to innovate and build solutions to enable payments businesses to enhance operational efficiency in money movement and broaden financial access for their customers. The company works in collaboration with global remitters, such as MOIN, WireBarley, Money Chain World Remittance and EzRemit, to help enable efficient money movement through digitised remittances.

“Remittances have long been a lifeline across Asia Pacific, and they will continue to play a vital role in uplifting communities and livelihoods. At the same time, many small businesses are also beneficiary of remittances driving local growth in local economies,” said Rhidoi Krishnakumar, VP, Head of Visa Direct, Asia Pacific, Visa. 

“At Visa, we recognise the enduring purpose of our role in delivering remittances on behalf of our clients and continue to innovate and build solutions to enable more efficient, reliable and secure ways to move money.” 

*World Bank Blogs: In 2024, remittance flows to low- and middle-income countries were expected to reach US$685 B, larger than foreign direct investment (FDI) and official development assistance (ODA) combined.

**International Fund for Agricultural Development, Remittances