- Cross-border payments from the US have increased significantly over the past 12 months
- Growth attributed in part to expanding freelance economy
- Top payment destinations include Pakistan and Bangladesh
Outbound remittances from the US to countries around the world have increased dramatically over the past 12 months, according to a recently released report from global payments provider Transpay.
Experts attribute a significant portion of this increase to the growth of the international freelance economy, which allows more workers to sell products and services online from anywhere in the world.
Transpay reported a 93% increase in cross-border payments leaving the US and a total transaction volume increase of 43% during the initial quarter of 2018, compared to the same period last year.
"We have seen extraordinary growth of the gig economy in the last year alone and our year-over-year data reflect that trend," said Peter Shore, Transpay General Manager.
According to Shore, a number of factors have contributed to the increase in outbound remittances, including revised H-1B visa regulations, emerging enterprise tech, the growth of the digital economy and the popularity of freelance marketplaces online.
All of these influences have changed the way companies hire and send payments to freelancers overseas.
Recent data from the University of Oxford Online Labor Index (OLI) shows that freelance markets have grown roughly 25% over the last year.
Transpay sent the greatest number of international transfers from the US to Pakistan and Bangladesh in the first quarters of both 2017 and 2018. These are two of the three countries with the highest number of online freelance workers, according to OLI, and the US maintains a strong demand for these services.
Shore added that in the last 12 months alone, Transpay's expansion of what he called "new corridors" into alternate geographies has been facilitated by increasing numbers of freelancers in those areas.
He added that Transpay makes it possible for US-based customers to pay those freelancers in their native currency and helps ensure fast, secure transactions.
