Xpress Money seeks to handle more remittances via more banks

Xpress Money established a presence in Thailand in 2010 by partnering with Government Savings Bank, as it saw this country as a high-growth market thanks to the number of migrants from Myanmar working here, he said.
Xpress Money has enjoyed an annual growth rate of 22-25 per cent, and it hopes to raise that figure this year and in the coming years after establishing more partners in Thailand and other countries in the region.
A new partner in Thailand is expected to be known in the next four months, he said.
It is also setting up a presence in Laos, the only country in Asean where Xpress Money does not have in its network.
Giriyan said money transfers into and out of Thailand totalled about US$3 billion (Bt105 billion) a year, of which $1.9 billion was outbound.
One of the fastest-emerging corridors from Thailand is into Myanmar, because several billion people from that country are working here and they have to send money back home. This is an opportunity for Xpress Money to facilitate those transactions.
Taiwan is among one the highest contributors of remittances into Thailand because more than 30,000 Thais work there. Xpress Money will have bank partners in Taiwan this year in order to handle some of those money transfers. Switzerland, the United Kingdom, Denmark, the Untied States and Australia also account for high volumes of money sent to Thailand, he said.
As well, the company has seen significant outbound money transfers from Thailand to such places as India, the Philippines and South Korea.
“We are trying hard to bring more money to Thailand and also open up more countries by adding more locations to increase the transaction flows to Thailand,” Giriyan said.
By volume, Xpress Money ranks third in the money-transfer industry but Giriyan hopes his company will move up to second place within a few years thanks to its network expansion and low remittance fees.
The company offers a remittance fee of 2 per cent per transaction, against the industry average of 7.53 per cent.
He explained that the low 2-per-cent remittance fee had been the philosophy of Xpress Money since it was founded because it acknowledges that it should not charge high fees to migrants who work hard and who earn very low wages, about 80 per cent of which they send back to their homelands.
Xpress Money has a loyalty programme whereby those sending money accumulate points from each money transfer that they can redeem against the remittance fee, he said.