Remote, the global human resource (HR) platform for distributed companies, has selected Nium, the Singapore-based real-time cross-border payments platform, to enhance its international payroll capabilities.
The partnership will be launched on a global scale, enabling businesses to instantly send employee payroll and contractor payments worldwide, Remote said in a statement on Wednesday.
According to the statement, the partnership allowed Remote to expand its real-time cross-border payments capabilities and geographic coverage, so it can continue to deliver best-in-class payroll solutions for its new and existing corporate customers.
The partnership will initially launch in 20+ markets across Europe, the United Kingdom, and Asia, supporting disbursement models including corporate payroll and contractor payments.
This is the start of an exciting roadmap for the fintech duo, with plans to add more payment corridors, markets, and methods to the combined offering in future, Remote said.
“As companies become increasingly global, the complexities of expanding compliantly across international borders also grow,
“Our partnership with Nium is designed to address these complexities head-on,” said Job van der Voort, Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder at Remote.
“Payroll is at the heart of any business and our partnership provides customers even greater confidence in their abilities to grow teams that stretch globally and still get paid on time, every time, in their local currency – no matter where they are in the world,” he added.
With access to Nium’s global real-time payments infrastructure, Remote can provide its clients with multi-currency wallets, allowing funding in over 20+ local currencies and avoiding the hassle of setting up and managing local bank accounts.
Live interbank exchange rates can be locked in for up to 24 hours and converted to make cross-border payroll in bulk.
Employee and contractor payouts can be sent via flexible payment options to bank accounts, cards, and e-wallets in over 220+ markets and 100+ real-time corridors around the world.
“If businesses want to stay competitive, it’s crucial that mission-critical payments like payroll don’t just work, but work well,
“And yet, companies continue to rely on legacy infrastructure or limited cross-border payment solutions to pay their employees and contractors worldwide,” said Prajit Nanu, Chief Executive Officer and Founder at Nium.
“After all, payroll isn’t just about money. It’s about employers finding new ways to deepen connections, improve retention, and say thank you to their increasingly diverse and globally dispersed employees,
“We’re helping Remote deliver this differentiation to its customers and look forward to enabling people and businesses all over the world to realize the full potential of real-time cross-border payments together,” he added.
As more businesses look at new markets to power growth, Remote opined that the ability to hire and scale across borders is rapidly becoming a key differentiator.
But for global companies, it noted managing multi-country payroll can be complex, with local compliance, technology, and cultural norms to navigate.
It said that as workforces expand internationally, even more difficult challenges arise creating a scalable, secure, and reliable international payroll model – without incurring excessive foreign exchange (FX) or transaction costs, significant risk, and back-office inefficiencies.
It said that companies use Remote to find, hire, manage, and pay talent all over the world.
It is noted that the global multicounty payroll solutions market is expected to approach $10.5 billion by 2030.
Much of this growth is concentrated in emerging markets, with the Philippines, Nepal, India, Pakistan, Mexico, Brazil, and Colombia among the top 10 destinations for payroll payments facilitated by Nium in 2023.
It is also noted that the fintech company has sent $2 billion in payroll payments to 134 countries around the world.
Nium’s payout network supports 100 currencies and spans 220+ markets, 100 of which in real-time. Funds can be disbursed to accounts, wallets, and cards and collected locally in 35 markets.
The firm’s growing card issuance business is already available in 34 countries.
It holds regulatory licenses and authorizations in more than 40 countries, enabling seamless onboarding, rapid integration, and compliance – independent of geography.
The company is co-headquartered in San Francisco and Singapore.
Remote, on the other hand, was founded in 2019 and is backed by leading investors including SoftBank Vision Fund 2, Accel, Sequoia, Index Ventures, Two Sigma Ventures, General Catalyst, and B Capital.