Azimo celebrates International Day of Family Remittances 2016 with zero fees offer on all transfers

AVRUPA TIMES (LONDON)-Azimo, the digital money transfer service, today announced that it will cut transfer fees to zero on 16th June 2016 in support of the International Day of Family Remittances (IDFR).

Public awareness of the role of remittances is still very low, despite their hugely positive social and economic impact on the world. Organised by the International Fund for Agricultural Development (IFAD), the International Day of Family Remittances was established to recognise, and raise global awareness of, the huge contribution made by migrant workers to the wellbeing of their families and communities back home.

While migration is at the heart of so much political debate, the positive impact of remittances is often completely overlooked. At $600 billion, the money sent home annually by migrant workers is three times larger than global aid budgets, acting as a crucial force for good in local development. Some 250 million people live outside their country of origin and remittances often account for more than half the total family income. 

Azimo, which recently relaunched its mobile app to further improve the way migrants send money, fully supports the IDFR’s aim to increase the impact of remittance funds in the developing world. The company already offers transfer fees from just £1, but has pledged to charge nothing at all for transfers to any country on 16th June.

The traditional remittances market still operates almost completely offline, making it difficult for people without access to basic financial services to receive funds. Azimo’s online service provides multiple options for fund collection without the need for a bank account, thus making remittances as accessible as possible throughout the developing world.

Michael Kent, CEO of Azimo, explained: “It is vital to recognise and celebrate the crucial contribution that hardworking migrants make to the lives of their families and friends in their home economy. But while remittance funds positively impact 700 million people globally, the average transaction fee is still 8% or more. As a company built by migrants for migrants, our aim is to fix the hugely expensive global money transfer market for the benefit of ordinary people. We want to make international money transfer cheaper, faster and simpler. By maximising the power of remittances for development, we can help our customers to build a better world.”