20
INTERVIEW
Meeting customer needs in a globalised world
Operating in the remittance space is all about ambitious targets and evolving to suit your customers. Alex Hamilton spoke with Xpress Money COO Sudhesh Giriyan about how technology and strategy can help make life easier
Senior Fintech Reporter Alex Hamilton
R
emittances is, in some respects, a perpetual industry. Money will always need to be sent across borders – from immigrants to families back home and from travellers to the countries
they leave behind. Yet it has experienced two years of minor decline – if only by a few percentage points – in certain markets.
This is the year in which remittances are set to make a comeback. The World Bank estimates that officially recorded remittances to developing countries are expected to grow by 4.8% to $450 billion for 2017. Global remittances, which include flows to high-income countries, are projected to grow by 3.9% to $596 billion.
It’s with that in mind that we met up with Sudhesh Giriyan, COO of remittances firm Xpress Money, to ask him why it is that remittance value dipped slightly, and why Africa was the only segment of the market that didn’t experience the decline.
“Africa has traditionally been one of the most dominant markets,” he says. “The whole continent receives about $60 billion plus per year.” Remittances to Sub-Saharan Africa are projected to grow by a robust 10% to $38 billion this year. The region’s major remittance receiving countries – Nigeria, Senegal and Ghana – are all set for growth.
A major concern for all users of remittances remains the cost of transaction fees. The five-by-five initiative, kicked off by major countries in 2009 to reduce the transaction fee for remittances down to 5% globally, has failed to achieve its major goal. Remittances from the UK to Africa cost about 9% of face value, whereas the global average is 7.2%. The UN is aiming for a global rate of 3% – how can companies achieve that?
“Fees haven’t gone down as much as G8 and G20 countries desired,” says Giriyan. There’s a surprising range of values. “The
www.ibsintelligence.com | © IBS Intelligence 2018
Page 1 |
Page 2 |
Page 3 |
Page 4 |
Page 5 |
Page 6 |
Page 7 |
Page 8 |
Page 9 |
Page 10 |
Page 11 |
Page 12 |
Page 13 |
Page 14 |
Page 15 |
Page 16 |
Page 17 |
Page 18 |
Page 19 |
Page 20 |
Page 21 |
Page 22 |
Page 23 |
Page 24 |
Page 25 |
Page 26 |
Page 27 |
Page 28 |
Page 29 |
Page 30 |
Page 31 |
Page 32 |
Page 33 |
Page 34 |
Page 35 |
Page 36 |
Page 37 |
Page 38 |
Page 39 |
Page 40 |
Page 41 |
Page 42 |
Page 43 |
Page 44 |
Page 45 |
Page 46 |
Page 47 |
Page 48 |
Page 49 |
Page 50 |
Page 51 |
Page 52
