Migrant workers all across the world send billions of dollars to their families in home countries, resulting in International remittances becoming a huge part of the GDP of some underdeveloped and Low and Middle Income Countries (LMICs). As per the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), more than $689 billion was sent to countries relying on remittances by over 200 million migrant workers in 2018. Close to $529 billion of this amount was sent to developing countries. Over 1 billion people around the world are directly involved in remittances and over 800 million people benefit from the remittance flow. During the Sustainable Development Goals timeframe of 2015-2030, about $8.5 trillion is expected to be sent over as remittances by expats to their home countries.
International Remittance via banks and money transfer operators has always been an expensive method of sending money overseas. Migrant workers and their families collectively lose millions of dollars of hard-earned money in hidden fees and transaction charges per year. The rise of fintech and advanced mobile money transferring applications have been offering some respite to the migrants by considerably slashing the transactions fee for international remittance. This has fundamentally led to fintech applications becoming a more popular option for cross-border transfers among expats in various countries.
Benefits of Using Fintech for International Remittance
Fintech has proved to be a boon for people the world over, given its ease of use and wide ranging features. The technology has bridged the gap between physical and digital approach to finance, considerably reduced the time required to send the money across and highly cut down the costs of quite a few digital financial services. Let’s find out how fintech has helped expats trying to send money from one country to another.
Quicker Than Banks
One of the main advantages of using a fintech application for international money transfers is that it can process the request way faster than banks. Banks typically take days to make the transfer, while fintech applications are known to be rather swift considering they make use of latest technologies to process the transfer. It also gives users the option to choose the express delivery method to speed up the process further.
Low Cost
The processing fee charged by fintech applications is relatively less than those charged by banks. There is a considerable number of fintech companies that process international remittance requests free of charge for selected locations. Fintech players also generally refrain from charging hidden fees, amendment charges or cancellation fee, unlike banks and money transfer operators.
Added Flexibility
Fintech based International Remittance solutions are flexible to use as they allow users to transfer money from anywhere in the world using their mobile phones or a web browser. Besides making online transfers, these solutions also support alternatives like sending cash through physical locations or making arrangements to transfer cash over the phone.
Beneficial Exchange Rates
Fintech companies offer lucrative exchange rates to its users, making them a more pocket-friendly option for people sending as well as receiving money through international remittance. Initially, banks and big companies were the only ones privy to the exchange rates, but the onset of fintech companies have brought competitive exchange rates to common people as well as small and medium businesses.
Convenient Features
Multiple convenient features like spot deals, forward contracts, limit orders and schedule payments add to the convenience of users looking to send money to their families. These features are especially useful for ensuring the most favourable exchange rates, thus helping people to get more money across.
Complete Transparency
Fintech solutions have set new standards when it comes to transparency in financial transactions. People sending as well as receiving money through the various money remittance solutions are kept in the loop with real-time updates. The solutions also follow the security norms to make sure all transactions are carried out through a secured tunnel.
Fintech has brought about a disruption in the international remittance sector and it continues to grow as more and more people opt for mobile financial solutions over the traditional methods. The MobiFin International Remittance solution by Panamax is one such platform that facilitates domestic and international remittance through a cashless and cost-effective model. Complete with built-in KYC and anti-money laundering features, it ensures full traceability and transparency, essential for secure cross-border payments.
Know more about the MobiFin International Remittance Solution at https://www.panamaxil.com/mobifin-international-remittance
