# Making money personal again Why money should be about the connections and possibilities it unfolds Author: Pal Sinha, Barnali Author URL: https://financedigest.com/author/pal-sinha-barnali Published: 2021-07-09 Category: TRADING Category URL: https://financedigest.com/category/trading Meta Title: Revolutionising International Money Transfers: Faster, Meta Description: Discover OneFor's user-friendly, fast, and affordable solutions for sending money to loved ones worldwide. Say goodbye to costly and impersonal transfers! URL: https://financedigest.com/making-money-personal-again-why-money-should-be-about-the-connections-and-possibilities-it-unfoldshtml ![undefined](https://prod.superblogcdn.com/site_cuid_cm5qst7v3003gwirgwqtxn8i8/images/storyblocks-2-hands-exchanging-moneyh3fnka2fv-1736838193939-compressed.jpg) _By **Marco Abele**, co-CEO of_ [_OneFor_](https://www.onefor.com/) _, a fintech that develops user-friendly, fast and cheap solutions to share money with countries inside and outside the EU._ _Transferring money internationally is often costly, time-consuming, cold and impersonal. It is high time we changed this._ In the developed world, many income earners and their close [families usually don’t live](https://www.financedigest.com/live-in-a-top-family-neighbourhood-at-marconi.html "Live In A Top Family Neighbourhood At Marconi") very far from each other. Most [working people have their families to return](https://www.financedigest.com/how-digital-signage-and-avoip-solutions-can-enhance-the-return-to-work.html "How Digital Signage and AVoIP Solutions Can Enhance the Return to Work") to in the evening. But about [9.5 million people in the UK](https://commonslibrary.parliament.uk/research-briefings/sn06077/) were born abroad, many who’ll still have close family overseas, including parents, partners and children. Similar scenes play out [across Western Europe](https://www.financedigest.com/workday-continues-momentum-across-europe.html "Workday continues momentum across Europe"), which houses millions of migrants working tirelessly to put bread on the table for families many hundreds or even thousands of kilometres away. In 2018 for example, almost [£8 billion flowed from the UK](https://migrationobservatory.ox.ac.uk/resources/briefings/migrant-remittances-to-and-from-the-uk/) abroad via personal remittances – making it one of the top twenty remittance sending countries in the world. India alone [received £3 billion](https://www.financedigest.com/petrofac-hitachi-energy-receive-14-billion-agreement-from-tennet.html "Petrofac, Hitachi Energy receive billion agreement from TenneT") from the UK that year. Other big recipients include Kenya, Nigeria, and Zimbabwe where remittances from the UK contribute significantly to local GDPs. Remittances are critically important within Europe too, where as many as three countries (Moldova, Kosovo and Bosnia and Herzegovina) depend on money earned elsewhere for more than 10% of their GDP. **[Sharing money](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-use-algorithms-to-save-time-and-make-money-when-trading-currency-crypto-shares-etc.html "How to use algorithms to save time and make money when trading (currency, crypto, shares etc)") is costly and slow** According to the [UN](https://www.un.org/development/desa/en/news/population/remittances-matter.html), personal financial flows to third world countries are worth three times as much as all development aid combined. The impact of these flows on [human lives](https://www.financedigest.com/grant-thornton-goes-live-with-workday-human-capital-management-across-ireland.html "Grant Thornton goes live with Workday Human Capital Management across Ireland") is also unsurprisingly enormous. According to Gilbert F. Houngbo, President of the International [Fund for Agricultural](https://www.financedigest.com/axa-unilever-to-join-new-1-billion-euro-regenerative-agriculture-fund.html "AXA, Unilever to join new 1 billion euro regenerative agriculture fund") Development (IFAD), the relatively small amount of money that each migrant will send home (approximately 85% of the money that migrants earn is spent in the country of residence) accounts for an average of 60% of the household income in their home country. IFAD estimates that three quarters of this [money is used for essential](https://www.financedigest.com/financial-literacy-for-young-adults-essential-money-skills-for-success.html "Financial Literacy for Young Adults: Essential Money Skills for Success") items such as food, medical supplies, training and shelter. This makes it all the more troubling that, according to the UN, an average of 7% of [international transfers are skimmed off by the service](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-choose-the-right-service-for-your-international-money-transfer-needs.html "How to choose the right service for your international money transfer needs") provider. Incumbent [banks charge up to £40 minimum on international transfers – and then it takes another 48 hours before an individual’s family can access the money](https://www.financedigest.com/marketmind-banks-are-leaking-money.html "Marketmind: Banks are leaking money"). That is why twice as many people [choose to physically transport money](https://www.financedigest.com/mistakes-to-avoid-while-choosing-a-private-money-lender.html "Mistakes To Avoid While Choosing a Private Money Lender") to its destination (with all the disadvantages and risks that entails). Most people (50%) do use specialised service providers such as border exchange offices to send [money abroad](https://www.financedigest.com/how-to-save-money-on-business-tripsabroad.html "How to save money on business trips abroad") – but even there, a shipment costs at least £5 and takes around six hours on average for families to receive. And even then, they have to go to a counter that is usually only found in the [big cities](https://www.financedigest.com/downsizers-in-the-big-city-why-wembley-park-is-the-place-to-be-for-those-who-want-more-for-less.html "Downsizers in the big city – why Wembley Park is the place to be for those who want more for less  ") which poses accessibility issues for people based in rural areas. **Caring shouldn’t be an impersonal process** All this makes what is actually very personal and human – caring for your family and loved ones – into a nasty, clinical and bureaucratic process. Whereas in our [home country we are used to easily reaching for our wallets to pay](https://www.financedigest.com/britain-launches-scheme-to-pay-homes-to-curb-electricity-use.html "Britain launches scheme to pay homes to curb electricity use") for dinner (or using the likes of Monzo or Splitwise to split the bill), sharing money with family members abroad is an expensive, planned process. Caring for others is very personal – perhaps even more so when the distance is so great. If your mother in Karabük, Turkey has a creditor on her doorstep, you want to be able to pay immediately, and also reassure her that everything will be OK. Or, if your sister texts you from a cafe in Kichevo, North Macedonia it’s nice if you can spontaneously pay for her coffee. A final example is if your little brother runs out of money at a petrol station in Maaziz, Morocco and doesn’t [know how he’ll get home](https://www.financedigest.com/re-mortgaging-your-home-in-the-middle-of-a-pandemic-what-you-need-to-know.html "Re-Mortgaging Your Home In The Middle Of A Pandemic: What You Need To Know"), you want to help him on his way, but also tell him that he should learn to plan his journey better. Caring from a distance is difficult enough. If it is reduced to a clinical and impersonal simple [transfer of money](https://www.financedigest.com/millennials-and-their-money-predictions-for-the-great-wealth-transfer.html "Millennials and their Money: Predictions for the Great Wealth Transfer"), the distance will only increase emotionally. **[Giving money](https://www.financedigest.com/nearly-half-of-parents-still-give-pocket-money-to-their-adult-children.html "Nearly half of parents still give pocket money to their adult children") should also be fun** The actor Will Rogers once said, “Too many people [spend money](https://www.financedigest.com/student-finances-exposed-how-do-they-really-spend-their-money.html "Student finances exposed: How do they really spend their money?") they haven’t earned on things they don’t need in order to impress people they don’t like.” Migrants who’ve worked hard and sacrificed to give their families a better life often don’t have that luxury. People who have travelled thousands of kilometres to [provide for their loved ones and communities at home](https://www.financedigest.com/polo-field-provides-new-homes-in-the-best-kent-location.html "Polo Field provides new homes in the best Kent location") deserve better. That is why I think it is time to look at [money in a different way](https://www.financedigest.com/best-ways-to-make-money-online.html "Best ways to make money online"). Sharing [money should become](https://www.financedigest.com/yolt-becomes-first-money-app-to-complete-the-integration-of-all-new-users-via-an-open-banking-api.html "Yolt becomes first money app to complete the integration of all new users via an Open Banking API") easier and more fun – also, or maybe especially, when the distance is greater. After all, money is not only a [means of payment](https://www.financedigest.com/what-emv-tokenization-2-0-means-for-the-payments-industry.html "What EMV Tokenization 2.0 means for the payments industry"), but also a means of bonding: a way of caring for others, even if you cannot literally stand next to each other. Money can be transferred much faster and cheaper – also to countries that are underserved by the [big banks](https://www.financedigest.com/banks-and-big-tech-the-promise-and-the-peril.html "Banks and Big Tech: the promise and the peril"). I believe that with a little imagination, technical ingenuity and creativity, it can be just as easy and quick (and almost as cheap!) to [pay for the groceries for your grandmother in Chichaoua, Morocco as it is to pay for the bill](https://www.financedigest.com/norwegians-can-now-pay-their-bills-via-facebook-messenger.html "Norwegians can now pay their bills via Facebook Messenger") for your neighbour in the local supermarket. All we need is the will to create better solutions. --- This blog is powered by Superblog. Visit https://superblog.ai to know more. ---