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

Arab Proverb

The foundation of money transfer startups’ PR pitch centers on a relatively 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concerning the role of banks: they are massive institutions with bureaucratic cultures, subpar customer service, and outdated digital capabilities.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. A typical bank is notably behind in service quality and pricing compared to the leading fintech startups. Furthermore, most banks don’t consider a money transfer business to be strategic.