The high cost of sending international remittances has been at the center of many ongoing debates in recent times. Many industry watchers, including the World Bank, have raised their concerns over the high amount a migrant needs to pay as remittance fee to send money back home to his/her loved ones. While the global average of remittance costs stands at 7.6%, there are countries – in particular those in Sub Saharan Africa – where this cost could be as high as 12%. This indeed is a staggering figure and one which every industry player should look to rationalize, but it does not happen as often as it should.
At a recent media event COO, Sudhesh Giriyan, explained how things are different with Xpress Money as far as remittance prices are concerned. Speaking to the media he said, “Xpress Money remains one of the most value for money brands for any remitting customer. Our average cost for sending remittances is as low as 2.09% – when you compare it to the global average of over 7%, you can see how cost effective we are. In whatever we do, our focus has always been our customers and reducing the burden of high costs of foreign remittance, remains a top priority for us.”
But how does a money transfer company go about reducing the cost of sending overseas remittance? They can do so by employing a few simple, yet effective measures, such as the ones Xpress Money uses.
Better Exchange Rates
One of the main reasons why customers end up paying more while sending money is that they fail to understand the low exchange rates being offered to them by a money transferor. The cost of sending a foreign remittance can be made more affordable, once the customers receive a better value on the exchange rates – something that Xpress Money ensures they offer
Low transfer fees
This one’s a no brainer. The immediate transfer fee that remittance services charge their customers is the biggest culprit behind high remittance costs.
No backend charges
In a lot of countries, a beneficiary has to pay a “lifting charge”, otherwise known as a backend fee, for receiving their remittances. So, not only does the sender pay a fee to the money transferor while sending money, the receiver also pays a fee just to receive the remittance sent to them – it is a double whammy for the customer. Xpress Money does not levy any such fees on its customers.
Value added services
Xpress Money recently launched their Rewards Card in the UAE market, which offers an instant cashback to a customer when they send money with us. With an opportunity to earn money when they send money, such value added services go a long way in reducing the remittance costs, as customers can redeem their cashback against the transfer fee, or add the amount to the principal value they are sending.
With these simple measures, a money transfer operator can contribute towards lowering the high cost of sending global remittances.
