The last quarter of the business year is the make-or-break season. Sales are soaring, customers are spending more during the holiday season, and cross-border goods and services transactions are faster than ever. But here’s a bottleneck you didn’t notice: payments stuck in the bank pipelines and compliance lanes that can take up to 60-90 days. From e-commerce businesses and travel aggregators offering discounted holidays to wholesale suppliers exporting bulk orders, this period of heavy traffic is crucial. Therefore, it is the ideal time to invest in tools and platforms that maximize profit margins.
The growth of cross-border spending in Kenya
Cross-border spending in Kenya is experiencing substantial growth, driven by a robust digital payments ecosystem, increased intra-African trade, and strategic partnerships aimed at enhancing accessibility and reducing costs. This surge is primarily fueled by the proliferation of mobile money platforms, particularly M-PESA , which enable more affordable and quicker local transfers. Additionally, initiatives such as the COMESA Digital Retail Payment Platform (DRPP), are facilitating local currency settlements among member states.
Amid the surge in digital payments, there is a silent drain hidden in the revenue charts often missed by most CFOs: how money moves across borders behind the rails. For too many businesses, the real profit isn’t lost in sales performance, it’s lost in settlement delays, FX spillage, and outdated payment rails. While e-commerce transactions are increasingly common, international payments for suppliers and exporters still face significant delays, averaging 7-10 business days to settle. These delays come at a cost to the international commercial market, with hidden fees and FX spreads ranging from 2% to 7%.
The end of the year, in particular, sees a surge in transaction volume for exporters in the continent sending goods across the globe. During this critical period, payment lags can dramatically impact a business's financial health, potentially leading to cash flow crises instead of a strong close.
Understanding key trends supporting the Q4 cross-border spending
Increased remittances
The "Majuu" effect is where a growing number of Kenyans are relocating abroad, leading to a surge in money sent back home.
Mobile money revolution
Platforms like M-Pesa and Verto are simplifying and reducing the cost of cross-border transactions, particularly for individuals and SMEs, and extending financial services to the unbanked.
Expansion of B2B and trade transactions
Kenyan businesses are increasingly engaged in international trade (both imports and exports), which is boosting the demand for B2B cross-border payment solutions.
Demand for speed
There's a rising expectation for faster payment processing, a need that new technologies and fintech innovations are actively addressing.
Fintech-driven innovation
Fintech companies are using API-driven platforms to offer more affordable, efficient, and accessible payment solutions, thereby transforming traditional banking services.
Emphasis on interoperability
Kenya's National Payments Strategy (NPS) is focused on enhancing compatibility between different payment platforms, making transactions smoother for both businesses and consumers.
Emerging Stablecoins
The recent deployments in the stablecoins market is expected to create cost reductions and enhance transparency in specific market corridors.
Alongside this growth, cybersecurity and resiliency are becoming the key deciding factors for businesses when investing in Fintech platforms. With higher transaction volumes, there's an increased focus on safeguarding processes and infrastructure against fraud and other cyber threats. This is where banks' legacy systems lack the desired level of cybersecurity and resilience against the growing number of attacks.
Squeeze Q4 profits faster in 2025
To truly capture the Q4 profit potential in cross-border payments, businesses should focus on four key areas. First, embracing accelerated settlements through real-time networks is crucial to improving cash flow, reducing working capital, and minimizing currency risk. Second, ensuring reliable routing with integrated APIs and intelligent algorithms builds trust, particularly for Kenyan suppliers exporting globally. Third, offering full transparency via a single-screen dashboard allows real-time tracking of transactions, exchange rates, and fees, enhancing customer satisfaction and financial forecasting. Finally, a commitment to compliant expansion by partnering with expert providers for KYC/AML and regulatory adherence is essential for mitigating risks, avoiding fines, and enabling Kenyan businesses to confidently enter new international markets with a future-proof platform.
Partner with Verto
Over the past several years, the cross-border payments landscape has undergone significant changes, which have created shifts that are reshaping business models, technological capabilities and the global money movement. Yet interestingly, despite the uncertainty, cross-border spending continues to grow: from $194.6 trillion in 2024 to a projected $320 trillion by 2032. This projection for 2032 majorly hinges on the increasing transaction volumes powered with bulk payouts to developed markets and faster collections conducted by suppliers locally in Kenya. However, the process of conducting these transactions is the weak spot for many businesses.
This weak link is bridged by platforms like Verto, who can be your partner of growth in 2026 providing FX Conversion capabilities for various currencies, beyond USD, Local Account Collections through local accounts at the lowest transaction charges, and Payouts to suppliers or any other recipient in no time.
Platforms now hold the ability to provide transparent and competitive FX rates and multi-currency accounts, enabling agencies to pay global suppliers - from travel aggregators in Kenya to wholesale businesses in the UK - in their local currency. This majorly eliminates double conversion fees, which often silently erode profit margins. By focusing on these areas, cross-border payments can become a profit driver, not just a cost.
This Q4, don’t just chase revenue, earn it with hidden margins. Sign up with Verto and unlock the profits!
Share this article
