Have cross border transactions become more accessible?

With the revolutionary change in technology, day to day tasks have become more convenient. It is possible to do many jobs by just clicking a button on your mobile phone. With the advancement of technology, the movement of people between continents became more common. As a result, the need for international money transfer became more. Along with the time, from ancient practice of exchanging goods and services to the cross border transactions became rapidly evolved thanks to the advance technology.

It is clear that the methods of transferring money have changed over the time but the goal of each and every international money transfer remains the same. Trust and a fair deal is all that matters at the end of each and every transaction.

Long before banks and printed money was invented people started traveling from one country to another. The need to experience food or goods from different parts of the world grew. As a result, people started trading by exchanging goods and services between countries.

How Cross Border Transactions worked in the Past?

Far before paper money and coins were invented a system for cross border trade transfers was invented and was called the Hawala System. Dated back to the 8th century the Hawala system was first started in South Asia as an informal way of transferring money or goods. Once a person pays the amount needed to be transferred to one of the agents the money will be delivered through a network of dealers who are mostly friends, family or trusted personnel. At the time before money was invented this system was used to transfer goods and services.

Later when money was invented soon the use of paper money and coins became popular among many parts of the world. With the rapid growth in world population the need to transfer money became more. Some wanted to transfer money to far away destinations and the system was still in use to transfer money at that time.

When cross border transactions were getting more popular, carrying cash around countries was not a safe option and for bigger trade deals lots of money was needed to carry around. This is where banks stepped forward to handle the cross border money transfers and bank bills were introduced to the merchants for easy and safe trading. Later the banks introduced the cheques for both businesses and individuals.

Transporting money or cheques from one destination to another was a time consuming process. To address this issue money transferring was done using telegraphs to make them speed up.

When many banks started using telegraphs to transfer money some of the department stores and companies came with the idea of using cards as a method of payment. This was the first step towards the invention of credit or debit cards. Decades later banks introduced ATM’s where people could withdraw cash by using their debit or credit cards or just deposit cheques.

Inception of SWIFT

In 1973, the society for worldwide interbank financial telecommunications (SWIFT) was formed to transfer money between banks around the globe with ultimate security. Now if you turn back and see how the cross border transactions have evolved over the time it is a drastic change and it keeps changing with the help of new technology. Money being the foundation for the modern monetary system, the transactions methods have changed over the time becoming more convenient, fast and secure.

With the help of the internet many new payment methods were introduced along with the digital money depositing systems. Soon the payment apps and digital wallets were introduced to make money transferring more cost effective and fast. Downloadable mobile apps for cell phones became more popular making money transferring just a matter of a one click.

Many money transferring specialists have adopted these new methods to deliver a better service for their customers. Nowadays many money transferring companies use their own plat-forms with the help of mobile technology to transfer billions around the world. Sending money has become faster, easier, more transparent and less costly than it used to be.

Modern money transfers do not require forms, codes, agents, extra time, and fees as the traditional methods.

Higher Exchange Rates

Nowadays money transfer service providers offer best exchange rates for international transfers. They have low fees compared to banks and a state of the art security system with a risk management process that ensures a total security on the transactions. With the vast choice available for transferring money around, it is important to do some research and select the best service for your transaction.

At present Bank wire transfers are available for safe and secure transactions. Wire transfers require both sender and receiver to have bank accounts. It is a convenient and secure way to send or receive money with a higher handling fee. It is best suited for larger money transfers.

Next most common transferring method nowadays is the online payment portals. This method offers instant money transfers to any part of the world. By providing the receivers personal details it simply allows you to send money with no hassle. Both exchange rates and transaction fees are transparent and in most of the cases they are included in the amount remitted.

Instant cash transfers on the other hand offer fast and secure transactions that are reliable and affordable. These non-banking service providers transfer money through the help of banks and a network of agents spread across the world. They offer the receiver to collect money in cash, send to their bank account, mobile wallet or even delivery to their doorstep.

These providers have spread to many rural locations with minimum access to technology giving a reliable service with low cost and higher safety. They have become the number one choice for money transfers in the world.

Verdict

Have cross border transactions reached the maximum limits of its evolution? According to the experts the evolution of money transferring will continue with the help of the latest technological improvements. For example, the latest innovation of crypto currency or electronic money does not require any centralized bank or an administrator to operate.

Banks and businesses are experimenting with block chains on how to adopt these new innovations into their systems. Most of the youngsters are interested in investing in Crypto currencies and there are more and more crypto currencies popping up every day. Only time can tell us what will be the future of global money transactions and it will definitely be more improved than today.