Money Transfers

Is This Course For You?

The course is intended for professionals in the money transfer industry, start-up entrepreneurs looking to enter the space, executives in the financial service interested in cross-border transactions, and international development professionals. The course will provide a space for discussions, debates, experience and knowledge-sharing and exchanges of resources and tools for those interested in the interaction of digital finance and the developing international remittance sector.

We will look at the history of these cross-border payments, established and emerging actors and mechanisms, the needs and interests of clients, and how technological and business innovations continue to open new frontiers for the money transfer market. Unlike the vast majority of cross-border payments, which are made by international corporations and banks, remittances are made person-to-person and usually in low amounts. The typical sender is an economic migrant who has left home to find more profitable work in another country, and the typical receiver is a family member who remains back home. But even though this very special kind of international money transfer use case represents a fraction of all cross-border payments. The World Bank estimates that it adds up to some 600 billion USD annually, and the Sustainable Development Goals have established targets for reducing the cost of these transactions back home.

What Are The Intended Outcomes?

Upon successfully completing the course, students will be able to illustrate how remittance mechanisms, technologies, and key players have evolved over time, as well as compare business models of established and emerging players, analyse the impact of legal and regulatory conditions and discuss trends developing within the remittance industry today.