Xi) Peer-to-peer financing, eg TransferWise

(started in 2011 by ex-Skype guy & others)

- banks charge high fees for transferring money between countries, ie 5+% plus poor exchange rates and delays in payment, compared with flat fee (UK$1 per $1,000 & 0.5% over $1,000)

- users are from 200+ m expats (living, working & studying abroad) plus businesses paying suppliers, etc

- using a crowd-driven, peer-to-peer model, no money is transferred between countries; rather it is exchanged within borders. Instead of transferring the sender's money directly to the recipient, it is redirected to the recipient of an equivalent transfer going in the opposite direction. Likewise, the recipient of the transfer receives a payment not from the sender initiating the transfer, but from the sender of the equivalent transfer. This process avoids costly currency conversion and transfers crossing borders.

- so far (mid 2013)

i) UK£ 125m transferred

ii) 20% monthly growth

iii) UK$ 5m saved for customers on fees, etc

iv) Venture capital invested UK£ 7.37 m

 

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