What is the difference between Xoom and Wise’s models? Do startups like Remitly or WorldRemit have a chance to gain a winning market share? What are the different ways money transfer providers mislead consumers? Why has MoneyGram’s valuation been much lower than that of other players? Will Bitcoin/blockchain destroy Western Union? Why do some nationalities use cash agents while others prefer online? Is the banks‘ remittance business really being disrupted? What are the differences in operating models across x-border money transfer businesses?…
If these and other such questions interest you, you have come to the right place. Thank you for visiting our blog! First, let’s clarify who this blog is for, why we started it, and what to expect.
This blog is FOR YOU if you are
- a consumer who sends money internationally
- reporter or industry expert covering financial services for consumers
- enthusiast fascinated by FinTech, Blockchain, payments, remittances, migration
- an employee of a company with a role in cross-border money transfers
We started this blog
… because a) there is an overwhelming amount of misleading information about the process of sending money, money transmitters, and consumers of such services – it is disseminated both on purpose or due to a combination of ignorance and laziness, b) we couldn’t find a high-quality source of a fact-based, objective analysis on these topics.
SaveOnSend.com was initially only a comparison site, or, as we liked to say in those days, “a kayak for remittances.” However, after the first couple of months in early 2015, it became evident that most of what we knew about this space was wrong. For example, we quickly discovered that even low-income consumers are not that eager to save a few dollars per transfer; they don’t really mind going to a cash agent, and large providers are not much more expensive than Fintech startups. At about the same time, or shortly after SaveOnSend’s launch, many similar and more advanced comparison sites launched: CompareRemit, Monito, RemitRadar, etc. In December 2018, Monito became the first comparison site to raise a $2.5 million funding round.
Since consumers didn’t really care for our comparison services, we wanted at least to share our learnings with the world and learn more in the process. And that is how the blog got started. Initially, few paid attention, until one day, Tim Swanson tweeted our article about money transfers using Bitcoin/Blockchain. Tim is one of the world’s top experts on distributed ledgers for back-end financial services, and SaveOnSend’s blog got on the map.
Over the years, we made plenty of wrong conclusions. We were skeptical about Bitcoin’s use in money transfers, but even that view was too optimistic. We didn’t think Wise would break even, or that Remitly or WorldRemit would keep growing by 50+% for so many years. We were surprised by the banks’ large share in cross-border money transfers and by the continued growth in their volumes. We didn’t think that Western Union could slow down so much… with many more examples like that. But our daily research, conversations with consumers, and feedback from our readers in the money transfer industry helped us quickly learn and revise our perspective.
SaveOnSend’s free-usage, no-revenue model allows us to remain objective. We do not favor a particular side between startups or incumbents, bitcoin or non-bitcoin providers, those who say that consumers are “ripped off” by money transmitters, and those who think otherwise. Not making money is why SaveOnSend can speak objectively without worrying that our analysis will upset providers, experts, or the media. Whatever helps consumers save money when sending money at scale, we will analyze and report it.
We are also learning from and inspired by other experts in this space: Faisal Khan, Hugo Mohr, Daniel Webber, and, of course, DILIP RATHA:
Our approach is fact-based and balanced, our confidence in tone will coincide with the amount of conclusive data, and we will always mention and welcome various opinions. Our goal is to learn, help, and inform a thoughtful reader, not to change someone’s behavior. We don’t share the approach of others who claim they want to change the world and then resort to heavy promotional incentives or negative, misleading PR. We accept the objective reality that most consumers are already satisfied with how they transfer money and are not eager to change. Understanding those consumers deeply in how they make decisions about sending money is both challenging and exciting to us!
What to expect from our blog
True to our startup name, the overarching theme will always be Saving Money on Sending Money. We will always look for and inform you about the cheapest, most frugal ways. With all topics on our blog, the materials will be regularly updated so that you can count on us for up-to-date information on your favorite topic in this space.
It will be structured among main categories, e.g.,
- Providers: Western Union, MoneyGram, Ria Money Transfer, Xoom, WorldRemit, Wise, Remitly, …
- Relevant topics: Bitcoin for remittances, FinTech startups, differences among providers, migration, the role of banks in remittances, consumer segments, marketing, and PR techniques, …
This blog is also BY YOU
Please tell us if you notice any inaccuracies or biases in our postings – send us a fact-based source for your assertion, and watch how quickly we make an update. And let us know if you want us to cover any particular topic.
