The development of freelancing led to the fact that workers with this type of employment began to influence actively the global economy. Studying freelance behavior is a valuable predictive tool. It helps to detect trends in changes in the geography of labor, identify stable niches for such employment and highlight new opportunities for development.
Electronic payments as a foundation for freelance development
According to the project “Life of an emigrant,” in 2025, only 23% of those surveyed in Europe chose cash for settlements.
E-wallets like PayPal, Skrill, payment systems and intermediary services (for example, Payoneer, Wise, Stripe, EasyStaff Invoice), crypto wallets and international bank transfers blur geographic boundaries to earn money. An Indonesian freelancer can just as easily get paid by his California client as local specialists. With several universal ways to get money from clients in his arsenal at once, a freelancer can ensure the stability of his work even when moving from country to country.
Freelancing is based on B2B payments (business) or P2B payments (person-business). As statistics show, the share of e-commerce in these segments is constantly growing. For example, the study showed that only 42% of B2B payments in 2023 were made using paper checks. For comparison, in 2004 this figure was at the level of 80%.
Freelancers: Is this category of workers significant enough in the economy?
According to the World Bank, online gig employment is already reaching double-digit share of the global labor market (up to ~ 12% according to estimated models), and along with the growth of platforms, social protection issues are also increasing.
For example, Human Cloud, citing MBO, cites the following data: in 2023, 72.1 million Americans worked freelance. In 2025, MBO reported that there are already 72.9 million people.
Grand View Research estimates the freelance platform market at $5.58 billion in 2024 and predicts growth to $14.39 billion by 2030 at an average annual rate (CAGR) of about 17.7%.
Digital nomads and their active impact on the economy
Freelancing allows a person to manage his life better. You can work from home for companies from your country, you can look for clients abroad. Someone likes to travel a lot around the world without stopping from work. The latter are often ranked among digital nomads.
Digital nomad in 2025: portrait and solvency
As the Dineka business center writes with reference to the Nomad List, among digital nomads men account for 86%, most of them have higher education (91%).
Russian Business indicates that 61% of digital nomads are married, their average age is 32 years, and the average income is set at $119,423 per year. In 2025, 5.6 million freelancers received more than $100 thousand. In 2020, there were noticeably fewer of them – almost 2 times.
Digital nomads are mainly specialists from countries in which the economy is well developed. In the United States, there are 37.3 million of them. In other countries, their number is less, but the numbers are also impressive: for example, in Canada there are 3.7 million, and in France – 2.6 million. Generation Z accounts for 28% of them.
Freelancers are the main drivers of the use of electronic wallets and other methods of non-cash payments in the host countries.
The interest of digital nomads in individual countries and cities is already noticeably affecting the local economy. A noticeable jump in property prices is associated with an increase in the number of freelancers in Lisbon. They are projected to grow by 5% every year, and this will last until at least 2027.
Where digital nomads choose to live: new visas
Digital nomads aspire to countries with unusual nature, mild climate and low food prices. They also choose countries where it is easier for a foreigner to arrange a long stay.
The high income level of freelancers makes them very welcome guests for many countries. The economic model of Nomad Economy is that the country imports human capital and consumption, but does not create additional jobs for new residents.
Freelancer is more attractive than tourist. After all, he spends his money in the country he visits, not a week or two, but months. 80% of freelancers live in one country (or city) from 3 to 9 months, 66% of them – 3-6 months.
According to Immigrant Invest, about 40 countries have already created the so-called “digital nomad visa.” It is distinguished by special conditions for permanent residence of foreigners who receive confirmed income from abroad. These conditions can be very loyal – to stay in Colombia, a foreigner needs to confirm income from only $750 per month.
Geographic centers of attraction of digital nomads
Global Citizen Solutions presented a list of the best places for digital nomads to live and work, and among them there are mainly countries in Europe, North and South America.
Criteria by which countries were assessed:
- procedures (validity period of the visa, conditions for its extension, income requirements, etc.);
- citizenship and mobility (opportunities for a residence permit and long-term integration);
- tax optimization (tax regimes for digital nomads, and benefits);
- economy (the total cost of living, as well as renting a workplace);
- quality of life (comfort, safety, affordable and developed healthcare, etc.);
- technology, and innovation.
The list of interesting countries for freelancers-foreigners according to these criteria includes Spain, Germany, the Czech Republic and a number of others.
90% of all programs and visas for digital nomads were developed after 2020 – after the Covid-19 epidemic, remote work of employees for many companies has become something familiar. According to Leader-ID, 45% of freelancers work from Europe, 18% from the USA, Mexico or Canada. 9% only are in Asia.
Anatomy of demand: which niches are growing
Studies have shown that the following niches are most popular with freelancers:
- technologies – 33%;
- advertising and marketing – 19%;
- management consulting – 20%;
- science and medicine – 5%;
- hospitality – 6%.
A number of specialists working in these niches may not be present in the office when performing their duties, with opportunity to create a universal product in demand in different countries. Therefore, these niches are leading among digital nomads. There are forecasts that the segment of graphic and web design will grow very quickly in the coming years. This is associated with an active transition to digital marketing.
The management consulting niche is considered relatively new to freelancing. At the same time, it is already quite significant in terms of the share of specialists represented. It is possible that the growth of freelancers in this niche indicates that specialists from areas not most familiar to freelancing are beginning to find opportunities for remote work without being tied to the country.
Due to the use of AI in various fields, the likelihood of a crisis in individual niches popular with freelancers was actively discussed. However, MBO surveys found that most professionals did not feel any difficulties due to AI technology. In addition, these freelancers saw a positive effect from the use of neural networks. They have become more effective, creative, their self-confidence has grown.
Macroeconomic picture through the prism of payment habits
Digital payment data reveals several global trends.
Digitalization is accelerating
In 2025, the electronic payments market is estimated at $121.53 billion, and in the future, it is expected to grow rapidly – by 2030, its volume will already be at the level of $358.81 billion. Cash, according to the Myfin.by portal (referring to the American fintech company Worldpay), is losing popularity in payments, and this trend will be observed until 2030.
Freelancers are the vanguard of payment digitalization. Their need for fast and legal cross-border settlements directly spurs the growth of the e-wallet market (53% of all transactions) and specialized services such as EasyStaff Invoice.
E-wallets are leaders in settlements
Popular ways to conduct electronic transactions in 2024 are:
- electronic wallets – 53%;
- credit cards – 20%;
- debit cards – 11%;
- cryptocurrency – 0.2%.
E-wallets took the leading position. The share of cryptocurrency is still small, and this is an indicator of problems: such a low share (only 0.2%) indicates the underdevelopment of the regulatory framework for the use of cryptocurrency in most countries in demand among freelancers.
In addition, the unpopularity of cryptocurrency shows that users prioritize simplicity and legality over anonymity or decentralization. Therefore, they are more willing to use electronic wallets, bank cards, specialized intermediary services like EasyStaff Invoice to make the process of receiving money for their work more convenient.
Summary
Freelancer payment data is not dry statistics, but the living DNA of the modern global economy. Freelancers’ number is growing, and this is a global trend: the e-commerce market is growing annually, and freelancers have more ways to receive payment for their work legally, even if their customers live in another country. This makes them more mobile.
Payment habits of freelancers are a leading indicator for the entire payment market. What is the norm for them today, tomorrow will become the norm for millions of ordinary users. With a high probability, countries in the coming years will continue to fight for human capital and improve the system of issuing visas for digital nomads, offering them understandable and attractive conditions for moving.
Most likely, in traditional freelance niches there will be an increase in the number of specialists who prefer to work without reference to a specific company or country. An influx from other, atypical niches is also expected due to the expansion of opportunities – including the emergence of a wide variety of ways to accept payments from anywhere in the world.
By Julia Bataltseva, Marketing Director, EasyStaff