While there has been a focus on junk fees recently that hasn't extended much to remittances. For people sending money overseas there is no transparency and the cost is still too high.
Remittances is a huge business with over $600 billion remitted every year; the fintech startups currently leading are WorldRemit, TransferWise and Remitly; the WSJ breaks down the various offerings as well as the other players in the industry; includes data on the remittance market across the globe and trends in the industry. Source
Argentine neobank Ualá announced it was moving into the segment, partnering with Mexican incumbent ABC Capital.
MoneyGram is testing XRP for reducing both the cost of transferring money and the settlement times; Both MoneyGram and XRP traded higher on the news; Ripple has signed on about 100 banks as customers, but is also targeting remittance companies; Ripple CEO Brad Garlinghouse also tweeted that three of the five largest money-transfer companies would begin to use XRP this year. Source
Nubank steps up its game in Latin America by offering remittances in Mexico and securing a new license in Colombia.
Fintech solutions are helping to lower the barrier to entry for women in emerging markets and the tools are beginning...
WorldRemit recently entered the U.S. market and already expects it to be their biggest market by year end; remittances sent from the U.S. back to home countries have risen to $66bn from $50bn in the last 5 years; immigrants are becoming more tech savvy and companies like WorldRemit see big potential as apps like WhatsApp have helped move people to use their phones more and more; WorldRemit has been driven in large part by relying on a number of different partners to help set up their expanding network; tax issues are still a big concern and recently receiving the NY approval, a 2 year effort, sets the company up to focus on scale. Source.
According to the World Bank global remittances are set to fall by 20 percent this year as the pandemic wreaks...
According to McKinsey $10 trillion is sent across borders by consumers and small businesses every year; however it is an...
In this episode we sit down with Matt Oppenheimer, the CEO and founder of Remitly, to discuss remittances, the financial challenges of immigrants and how fintech is serving them better.