As an exclusively online service, Xendpay is able to provide its customers with some of the most competitive rates on cross-border money transfers. The London-based company even gives customers the option to waive fees with its Pay What You Want service. To extend this extraordinary initiative even further and help millions of people get more when sending their money abroad, Xendpay recently joined RippleNet, opening up new corridors to Bangladesh, Malaysia, Philippines, Vietnam and Indonesia and enabling real-time payment rails to Thailand.
“Most of our customers are migrants who are sending money back home,” explained Bhavin Vaghela, Xendpay’s Head of Product Innovation. “This money is vital to support their families: to pay rent or mortgage, electricity bills, medical fees and education costs. Being an online service allows us to reduce our overheads and pass the savings on to these clients, for whom every penny counts.”
Xendpay is popular in countries with established and growing migrant communities, including the U.K. and Europe, as well as Canada, South Africa and India. Other customers include students needing to pay tuition fees and receive funds to cover living costs, as well as small online businesses who buy and sell goods from other countries.
Transfer Fees Are Optional with Xendpay
All Xendpay customers are concerned with maximizing the value of their cross-border transfers, which is why the company’s low costs and wholesale FX rates stand out. What makes Xendpay truly unique is the company’s Pay What You Want feature that allows customers to waive fees on transfers totaling around $2,500 over a calendar year. This ensures that the full extent of a customer’s hard work is appreciated by their families. The Pay What You Want feature also extends to businesses, who can waive fees on transfers totaling around $5,000 per calendar year.
“Our suggested fees start at GBP3.50, which is already low for a cross-border payment,” said Vaghela. “Though it may not seem like much, when you translate that into a currency like Vietnamese Dong, it’s a significant amount of money. Our customers can choose to pay our suggested fee or change it to one they feel is fair.”
“I think of our fees as similar to providing a tip,” he added. “If you feel like you’ve been treated well, received a good rate and enjoyed the experience, you might pay the recommended rate. We’ve even had clients pay us more.”
Opening Local Markets with RippleNet
While flexible fees attract new customers, the difficulty involved in transferring anything other than U.S. dollars to these new countries was still a significant barrier for Xendpay. Dealing in smaller currencies required direct partnerships with local banks and the set-up and maintenance of complex API arrangements for each one. Using RippleNet to connect with a robust network of partners has proven to be a simple solution to this problem.
“Previously we had to create a whole business case for each partner,” said Vaghela. “RippleNet reduces that complication and friction. There’s a built-in trust factor, which allows us to get to market quicker. We were unable to offer currencies like Malaysian Ringgit or Bangladeshi Taka before. Now that it’s easier to connect with local partners, we can provide our clients with more local currencies and, therefore, see new growth in those corridors.”
Even when Xendpay did have an established local partner, the transactions took days to complete. With RippleNet, previously lengthy cross-border payments are happening in real-time.
“When we sent Thai Baht, it took 3 to 4 days for the payment to be processed,” recalled Vaghela. “Thanks to RippleNet, a customer in Germany can log onto our platform at 3AM on a Sunday morning and the money will be in their beneficiary’s bank account in Thailand within an hour. More than 90 percent of our recent payments to Thailand over RippleNet have been delivered within 10 minutes.”
Growing Ahead of the Competition
Xendpay plans to continue opening new corridors and enabling more migrant workers, students and small businesses to transfer money inexpensively and efficiently. The company has also just launched services into Africa, including high-value remittance markets like Nigeria, Ghana, Kenya and South Africa.
“As traveling to and working in other countries has become easier, people are also increasingly more comfortable with transferring money digitally,” concludes Vaghela. “The rapid growth of the online payments market demonstrates this. It’s now a highly competitive sector with a growing number of new entrants. By helping us continually open up new markets, keep our fees low and reduce processing times, Ripple ensures Xendpay remains ahead of the competition.”
