Middle East MTO chooses the RemitONE Money Transfer Platform for Expansion and Flexibility

Background

The Middle-East MTO is proud to serve the UAE’s cosmopolitan community through its 70+ strong network, spanning all Emirates. Reinforced by strong relationships with over 150 global corresponding banks, financial institutions, and other financial service providers.

They chose RemitONE’s industry-leading Money Transfer Platform to support their expansion and help with digital flexibility.

Business Challenge

The MTO required a dramatic revamp of its software in order to run its business more effectively. Notably, they required a solution that overcame several business challenges, including:

Gain a license to operate in the UK.
Require an API to create transactions on the RemitONE system.
Require a way to send and payout transactions digitally.

Solution

RemitONE provided the Middle-East MTO with the following solutions:

Money Transfer Engine™ (MTE), the industry-leading money transfer platform used by banks and MTOs worldwide.
Agent Remittance Manager™ (ARM), the agent-based money transfer system.
Online Remittance Manager™ (ORM), the online remittance platform.
Access to RemitONE APIs to enable them to create transactions on the RemitONE platform while utilising their own front end for sending and payout.
RemitONE Connections™, the extensive network of integrations which allows clients to gain access to new partners and corridors.

Business Benefits

Since adopting the RemitONE Platform, they have experienced the following benefits:

Mobile Wallets – RemitONE were able to provide the MTO with access to our APIs, allowing them to create, send and payout transactions and make use of mobile wallets.

Accelerated Expansion – As a client of RemitONE, they benefit from introductions to the vast RemitONE network, helping them to expand their client base.

Digital Flexibility – They have made use of the RemitONE Platform alongside our APIs, allowing them to function in a hybrid way as they shift from an agent-based model to a more digital model. At the moment they process 100% of their transactions through RemitONE’s API and their own front-end system, with most of these transfers sent from or paid out to mobile wallets.

Transaction Growth – The business has seen dramatic growth since adopting the RemitONE platform in 2016. From 2017 to the present day they have realised a 168% increase in their transaction growth, including a 35% increase in transaction growth in the past year alone!

Future Plans

The MIddle-East-based MTO is excited to expand into new corridors and connect with other RemitONE clients, enabling others to go to market quicker.

They also plan to continue developing their offering with the goal of converting their app into a ‘Super App’, including new features such as cryptocurrency facilities.

If you are a Money Service Business looking to connect with other industry experts or learn more about RemitONE’s Money Transfer Software solution, please email marketing@remitone.com.

Asia-based Bank Unleashes its Potential with RemitONE’s Award-Winning Software and Security

Background

RemitONE deployed its money transfer platform to the South-East Asian bank, helping them transform their remittance business with enhanced security features and an extensive online and app presence.

Business Challenge

The bank needed a proven money transfer system to surmount the following business challenges:

Ability to capture both sides of the remittance market
Capacity to offer an online and mobile customer experience
A strong security system as part of a bank branch network, including enhanced compliance and fraud prevention

The bank approached RemitONE to provide a solution that would address these challenges.

Solution

In order to address these unique business challenges, RemitONE offered the following solutions:

Money Transfer Engine™ (MTE), the industry-leading money transfer platform used by banks and MTOs worldwide
Online Remittance Manager™ (ORM), the online self-service remittance platform, lets customers create transactions online through laptops, tablets and smartphones
Mobile Remittance Manager™ (MRM), the self-service remittance app for iOS and Android
Agent Remittance Manager™ (ARM), an agent-based money transfer system, allows agents to create transactions in a secure and compliant manner

Business Benefits

Enhanced Digital Offering – The online-focused Money Transfer Solution enabled the bank to grow its presence and provide vital online options throughout the pandemic.

New Market Penetration – The RemitONE money transfer solution allowed them to capture both sides of the remittance market.

Enhanced Security – The RemitONE system’s enhanced security features allow the security-conscious bank to function with confidence.

Transaction Growth

Within a year of the deployment of the Enterprise platform in 2019, the number of transactions processed by the bank grew by 100%. From its deployment to the present day, the company has realised an incredible 258% increase in its average monthly transaction levels.

Al Fardan Exchange Limited UK – Ibrahim Muhammad, Director

As part of our global expansion strategy, we wanted to have a robust money transfer platform that is easy to configure and deploy to enter into the new markets faster while having a solution that can offer both online as well as agent based money transfer modules. RemitONE has provided the right platform that matched our expectations and enabled us to obtain the license from FCA in the UK within a very short period of time

UnityLink Powers up with RemitONE’s Platform Enabling Remittance to Ghana

Background

UnityLink Financial Services Ltd is an international money transfer business, established in 1998, devoted to serve the European – African remittance corridors. With over 40% market share of the remittance market from the UK to Ghana, processing over one million transactions a year and over 3000 collection points in Ghana, UnityLink also provides services to remitters in the Netherlands, Republic of Ireland, Italy, Germany and the US through their impressive agent network.

To cope with their phenomenal growth and rapidly rising transaction volumes, in 2010 UnityLink needed a highly robust and scalable remittance platform with advanced compliance and security controls. They wanted to provide their agents with the ability to create and deliver transactions easily. They also wanted to make it easier for their customers to create transactions online from home, work and mobile devices. Lastly, they wanted stronger integration with other MTOs and banks and have the ability to offer value-add services to their customers.

Business Challenge

More specifically, UnityLink required:

A compliance rules management system that allowed for additional compliance procedures, over and above FCA and FinCen’s KYC and AML standards
A high performance, scalable platform customisable to individual requirements
Streamlined business processes
An enhanced user interface with appropriate security measures
Improved teller pay-out functionality
Full audit trails, improved accounting and reporting
Improved security, ID and address verification
Easy data migration from the old system to the new platform

Money Transfer Solution

RemitONE provided UnityLink with the following solutions:

Money Transfer Engine™ (MTE), the industry leading money transfer platform used by banks and MTOs worldwide with a built-in compliance rules engine

Agent Remittance Manager™ (ARM), an agent-based money transfer system, to allow UnityLink’s branch tellers to create transactions in a secure and compliant manner

Online Remittance Manager™ (ORM), the online self-service remittance platform, to let UnityLink’s customers create transactions online through laptops, tablets and smartphones

Webservice Interface that allows integration with clients and partners, both for sending and receiving transactions

UnityLink now has an end-to-end money transfer platform that offers the following features:

A compliant system with robust KYC procedures and AML checks against OFAC, EU Sanctions, PEPs and HM Treasury lists
A platform to implement rigorous compliance rules
Significantly improved accounting, audit trails and reporting
Better bank branch management and functionality
Utility bill payment and mobile top-up payments with Airtel integration
Improved login security
An online portal, both desktop and mobile versions
Better segregation of their US business, using custom functionality for that region
A reliable and stable integration with global partners such as WorldRemit, Small World, Money Express and others
Integrations to send to multiple mobile top-up service providers

Ms Maureen Williams, Operations Manager, UnityLink, commented “The RemitONE platform has allowed us to expand our business operations at an accelerated pace without compromising on KYC and AML compliance. RemitONE’s support team are always responsive, friendly, professional, and helpful.”

Business Benefits

Since adopting the RemitONE platform, UnityLink has realised the following benefits:

Performance and Scalability – scalable solution that has grown over the years as their business has grown with various developments

Third party integrations – has allowed rapid growth and transaction volumes to increase as partners are able to send transactions to Unity Link to pay-out through their system in Ghana.

Security and Compliance – using RemitONE’s industry-leading Compliance Manager™, UnityLink can be assured that their business is fully compliant with regulatory procedures and requirements. Moreover, UnityLink is provided with the flexibility of adding custom rules with RemitONE’s Compliance Rules Engine™

Significant Cost Reduction – With the latest remittance technologies, UnityLink has automated several labour-intensive tasks. They are now able to offer competitive rates and pass on the savings to their customers. This improves customer loyalty & retention.

Agent Empowerment – Agents using the RemitONE system have much more control over the creation, management and processing of transactions. This improves response times to special customer requests and other unforeseen transaction issues.

Customer Empowerment – With the RemitONE’s Online Remittance Manager™, UnityLink can empower the customer to send money online, quickly and securely from the comfort of their homes or mobile devices.

RemTech Judging Panel

RemitONE’s solution shows that they understand the problem that needs to be addressed and have built a solution to it, rather than many others which have a solution but are not addressing a real-world problem. It is particularly noteworthy because their solution helps not just MTOs but regulators as well and could make a major difference to the problem of de-risking.

Peter Molders, Caleen Financial Services

RemitONE’s money transfer platform copes very well with our transaction volume and has the necessary functionality to meet our business, regulatory and customer needs. We are pleased with the system’s performance and the level of support we receive from the RemitONE team.

UBA unleashes its remittance potential with RemitONE’s platform & portals

Background

UBA is one of the most respected banks in Africa. They operate a domestic and cross-border remittance business, Africash, via hundreds of branches across their multi-national business covering 20 countries. Despite their strong reputation and the Africash brand, their remittance business was not performing so well.

The heart of the problem was that their legacy system did not support a 3^rd party remittance channel, nor was it capable of supporting any other new initiatives. The cost, effort and time involved in issuing system changes meant that it was both a significant overhead and a hindrance which dragged down business performance.

Business Challenge

More specifically, UBA required more extensive remittance functionality:

Support for multi-national branch network/integration with core banking systems
Integration with value-add partners (e.g. Mobile network operators)
Support for 3^rd party agents
Compliance/fraud prevention
Strong system security as part of a bank branch network
A better way of managing system maintenance & updates
An online & mobile customer experience

Money Transfer Solution

RemitONE provided UBA with the following solutions:

Money Transfer Engine™ (MTE), the industry leading money transfer platform used by banks and MTOs worldwide
Agent Remittance Manager™ (ARM), an agent based money transfer system, to allow UBA’s own agents and 3^rd party agents to create transactions in a secure and compliant manner
RemitONE Connections – a service which creates a relationship between senders and payers in the RemitONE network
The opportunity to implement RemitONE’s Online Remittance Manager™ (ORM), the online self-service remittance platform, to let UBA’s customers create transactions online through laptops, tablets and smartphones

However, just as important as the platform solution to the overall success was the implementation project itself which included:

Integration of the RemitONE solution with UBA’s core banking system (Finacle)
Custom development to support enhanced security features and UBA’s 3^rd party agent management processes
Skilling the UBA team to offer 1^st line support to their community.
Linux-ProgreSQL-PHP stack training to UBA’s technical team in order to overcome an initial reluctance to adopt a different technology platform.

UBA now has an end-to-end money transfer platform that offers the following features:

A compliant system with robust KYC procedures and AML checks
A robust web-based technology platform that can scale & be rapidly deployed across hundreds of branches in 18 countries
Integration with their core banking platform
Ability to handle the 3^rd party agent network & expansion of other agent networks
Security in-line with their internal policies
Reduced cost of ownership of the remittance platform
Access to a wider sending network through RemitONE Connections
Significantly increased ROI & enhanced customer experience

Business Benefits

Since adopting the RemitONE platform, UBA has realised the following benefits:

Unleashed Potential – Replacing their legacy system with RemitONE’s modern industry-leading platform has unshackled the business from that which was constraining it. They have retained the security and integration expected in a core financial platform.

Significant Cost Reduction – With the latest remittance technologies, UBA is able to realise a better cost of ownership profile for its remittance platform, at the same time offering much more functionality to its users and customers.

Lanre Bamisebi – United Bank for Africa

We implemented RemitONE in UBA for 18 countries. We had a short implementation timeline and a couple of customization and integration with our core system and other solutions. The timeline for completion was very aggressive, but with the relentless support of RemitONE staff and management we were able to go live on time, within cost and the solution surpassed its proposed benefits. I need to mention that the implementation and post go – live were all done remotely; this speaks to the flexibility and agility of the solution and the adaptability of the RemitONE implementation team.

One of Bangladesh’s Most Powerful Brands Adopts the RemitONE Platform

Background

Agrani Bank is one of the largest state-owned commercial banks in Bangladesh. With over 1,200 branches across the country, they have considerable reach and influence. They operate their global remittance business with over 100 exchange houses and partners.

They wanted to streamline their high volume remittance operations for Singapore to Bangladesh corridor and improve customer service.

Business Challenge

More specifically, they required:

A platform to expand their global remittance business from Singapore
Implement a real-time, fast, reliable & secure system to automate the manual process of handling transactions
Introduce optimised account transfer and instant cash facilities for beneficiaries in Bangladesh in minutes
Empower staff to help customers effectively
A system capable of handling thousands of customers a day
Easy data migration from their old system to the new platform

Money Transfer Solution

RemitONE provide Agrani Bank with the following solutions:

Money Transfer Engine™ (MTE), the industry leading money transfer platform used by banks and MTOs worldwide.
Agent Remittance Manager™ (ARM), an agent based money transfer system, to allow Agrani’s branch tellers to create transactions in a secure and compliant manner
Hosted (SaaS) platform

Agrani Bank now has an end–to-end, real-time money transfer system that offers the following features:

A fast, reliable, secure, and easy to use money transfer management system that handles bi-directional transactions with multi-country and multi-currency support
A fully compliant system with inbuilt KYC and AML functionality including checks against OFAC, PEPs, HM Treasury lists and rules regulated by the Central Bank of Singapore
A robust platform that can handle thousands of transactions each day

Business Benefits

Since adopting the RemitONE platform, Agrani Bank has realised the following benefits:

Significant cost reduction. With the latest remittance technologies, Agrani Bank has automated several labour intensive tasks. They are now able to offer more competitive rates and pass on a portion of the savings to customers, thereby improving customer loyalty.

Agent empowerment and fraud mitigation. Agents using Agent Remittance Manager™ have greater control over transaction creation, management and processing. Agrani Bank is able to enforce KYC and AML procedures on their agent network with ease and mitigate fraud.

Staff empowerment. With the RemitONE system, their business critical information is managed in a centralised manner and is instantly available to the right member of staff at the right time, thereby supporting better customer service.

Expansion of branch network and remittance corridors. Planning to open more branches in Singapore with new remittance corridors in India, Indonesia and the Philippines.

RemitONE Helps Leading South Asian Bank Streamline Global Remittance Operations

Background

As the first private sector bank in Bangladesh and founded 30 years ago, Arab Bangladesh Bank, better known as AB Bank, is recognised today as one of South Asia’s leading banks. With special focus on technology and modernisation, AB Bank has witnessed remarkable growth through prudent business decisions and strategic partnerships with MTOs and correspondent relationships with over 220 international banks across 58 countries. AB Bank has also partnered with nine exchange houses in the Middle-East and has two offshore offices in the UK, two in Oman and one each in Saudi Arabia and the UAE.

AB Bank provides a range of financial services to customers including money transfer facilities. The bank’s rapid success can also be attributed to its revolutionary focus on global markets as opposed to a few remittance corridors.

Business Challenge

AB Bank needed a proven money transfer system to surmount the following business challenges:

Cope with and manage significantly high transaction volumes
Empower source agents to have more control over transaction management
Witness streamlined business processes allowing for enhanced multi-currency management when transaction and credit log currencies are different
Accept transaction data in multiple formats such as csv and fixed length field from various exchange houses
Allow for a flexible method of managing Agent Credit reports
Automated transaction routing mechanism based on easily configurable business rules

AB Bank approached RemitONE to provide a solution that would address these challenges.

Solution

RemitONE provided AB Bank with a consolidated and enriched RemitONE Money Transfer Management Solution (R1 MTMS) to address AB Bank’s business needs. With the RemitONE solution, AB Bank now has a complete, end to end, web-based, multi-agent, multi-channel, multi-corridor and multi-currency money transfer platform that is proven, robust and secure.

In order to address AB Bank’s unique business challenges, R1 MTMS offered the following:

A powerful Linux based application using PostgreSQL to manage thousands of transactions in an effective and efficient manner
Empowered source agents that can amend and cancel transactions even after they have been processed by the Administrators/AB Bank HQ
Enhanced multi-currency management for agent credit logs where source agents can send transactions in one currency and record them in the credit log in another currency, making it easier for AB Bank to manage transaction creation process as AB Bank HQ can now view all credit log data in BDT
Multiple file format upload mechanism to allow AB Bank’s source agents to upload files in different formats including csv and flf
AB Bank Administrators can now manage Agent Credit information with ease; they can extract information based on specific dates, segregate debits from credits, and see how much each agent paid in total for any specific date
Automated routing so that AB Bank’s source agents do not have to provide codes for delivery bank branches for pay-out purposes. The RemitONE system will match transaction data automatically with the remitter name provided by the source agent

Business Benefits

Enhanced Transaction Management – With features such as auto-routing and multi-currency for agent credit logs in the RemitONE system, transaction management has become significantly easier for AB Bank.

Agent Empowerment – Source agents using the RemitONE system have much more control over the creation, management and processing of transactions, thereby improving response times to special customer requests and other unforeseen transaction issues.

Cost Savings – AB Bank’s source agents in the Middle-East and the UK can upload transactions directly into the RemitONE system without having to worry about training their tellers on new software, thereby ensuring cost savings in terms of time and resource. AB Bank saves significant costs as it is using one remittance system – the R1 MTMS – to communicate and exchange information with source agents who might have their own remittance systems.

New Market Penetration and Higher ROI – The idea of partnering with AB Bank without having to switch to its remittance system for transaction creation is appealing to many MTOs seeking to tap into Bangladesh’s lucrative remittance markets.

Enhanced Business Process Management – With the RemitONE system, AB Bank can now ensure that all business critical information is managed in a highly centralised manner and is instantly available to the right staff member at the right branch at the right time.

Future Plans

AB Bank is well-placed to dominate the Middle-East to Bangladesh remittance corridor due to its reputation, internal and external networks and alliances with key MTOs in the region. By using the R1 MTMS, AB Bank plans to offer a wide range of remittance services to customers at affordable rates.

In the near future, in order to provide branchless remittance services to its customers, AB Bank plans to use RemitONE Online Remittance Manager (R1 ORM) and RemitONE Mobile Remittance Manager (R1 MRM) to allow customers to send money via the online and mobile channels respectively.