How is Fintech Shaping the Remittance Industry?

How is Fintech Shaping the Remittance Industry?

In 2018, The World Bank reported that remittance sent to low and middle-income countries reached a record high of $529 billion. Although the Covid-19 pandemic initially triggered a dip in remittance payments being made, trends show that they are, once again, on the rise. While the reliance on remittance is not the all-purpose built solution for emerging economies, remitted payments have drastically increased the GDP of these countries. In light of this, Latifa Alkhanjary, writer, Kinesis Money, shares her thoughts on how fintech is shaping the remittance industry. What is a Remittance? When money is sent to another party, this is referred to as a remittance or a remittance payment. Now that currency can be transacted, transferred, or sent via email , the term foreign remittance is more often invoked to describe the process of sending money to someone who resides in another county. When transacting money, we expect that a fraction of that sum will be lost to the central banks or the institutions we are transferring money to. However, the fees incurred from remittance payments are notoriously high, as many will have noticed when trying to take out money from an ATM abroad. The World Bank reported that