“The dogs bark, but the caravan moves on.”

Arab Proverb

The foundation of money transfer startups’ PR pitch centers on a fairly intuitive concept concerning the role of banks: they are massive institutions with bureaucratic cultures, subpar customer service, and outdated digital capabilities. Consequently, it’s only a matter of time before banks are displaced from the cross-border money transfer industry. Ironically, this premise holds. In comparison to the leading fintech startups, a typical bank is notably behind in service quality and pricing. Furthermore, the vast majority of banks don’t even consider a money transfer business as strategic.