The evolution of embedded and increased accessibility of B2B payments orchestration are two of the biggest trends Currencycloud sees in the Asia-Pacific region for 2023.
Currencycloud believes there will be unprecedented growth in intra-Asia-Pacific trade during 2023. This will have a knock-on effect and drive new levels of cross-border payments, as well as cross-industry collaborations, innovative solutions, and multiple payment rails.
It added that the emergent payment modes to be born from these developments are already viable alternatives to conventional systems, like SWIFT. Direct, transparent, interoperable and adaptable to many operating environments, these modes could transform APAC into a seamless payment ecosystem.
With the year set for growth, Currencycloud has highlighted three core trends in the region for 2023.
Embedded finance evolution
One of the biggest trends is the continued evolution of embedded finance. It said, “Unlike recent years where newcomers brought a host of innovative services to revolutionise the embedded finance market, this year will see the more established and larger players showcasing enhanced and improved versions of existing solutions to help customers raise the value of their financial service offerings.”
It added that non-banking platforms are a prime market for embedded solutions, with it a highly viable option for business growth, it said. While there is a big market for it, Currencycloud expects firms to be strategic with their choice of implementations due to tight funding.
A result of this will be some FinTechs going back to basics and launching traditional financial services that complement their existing offerings. Through this, they could expand their offerings without disrupting existing processes and workflows. These could include embedded payments and currency exchange, which are easy for retail platforms to add and are well received by customers.
Increased accessibility of orchestration of B2B payments
The second trend is the rise in B2B payment orchestration. It stated that as B2B e-commerce rises in the region, enterprises will need to bolster their cross-border collections and payments. These systems will need to drive greater efficiency, transparency, speed, and cost across their supply chain.
To achieve this, they will need to broaden their money movement routes and integrate their internal enterprise financial systems with more payment rails.
Currencycloud said, “In 2023, we expect to see payments orchestration becoming more accessible to organisations of different sizes via platform services. One way of doing this is through traditional financial institutions’ B2B offerings, such as Powerboard by Australia’s CommBank. As more of these services come online, they would enable enterprises’ accounts payable to access payments orchestration tools with greater ease.”
Meanwhile, FinTechs will continue to offer B2B customers embedded finance. By leveraging APIs at the payment orchestration layer, firms will be able to overcome complex issues in collections, foreign currency exchange, hedging, and payments.
Increased growth powered by WealthTech
The final big trend for the Asia-Pacific region will be the rise of WealthTech. In wealth management, digital innovations emerged to help the growing number of High-Net-Worth-Individuals (HNWI) and family offices in the region.
It added, “Specifically, wealth management platforms that offer comprehensive and integrated cross-border payments will differentiate themselves from the crowd, as their users can react faster to shifts in the investment landscape.”
Investment apps and portals will also see growth in 2023, specifically those offering micro and fractional investment services.
Currencycloud concluded by offering tips on how WealthTech can get ahead in 2023. It said companies should make their apps and portals more user friendly, offer supplementary activities to improve customer engagement and loyalty, and expand the service portfolio with more asset classes.
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