Euronet's Ria Money Transfer enters into new partnerships in India

Company claims to be the world's third largest money transfer company

Ria Money Transfer, which is a subsidiary of Euronet Worldwide, has expanded its business partnerships in India, intensifying competition in the money remittance market. Ria has announced new strategic partnerships with three cash remittance payout agents- Paul Merchants Ltd, Weizmann Forex Ltd and Transcorp International Ltd. Ria also has exisiting partnerships with Punjab National Bank and Kotak Mahindra Bank as well as other non-bank financial companies (NBFCs) including Manappuram Finance and Mini Muthoot.  Ria claims to be the world’s third largest money transfer company after Western Union and MoneyGram. This comes at a time when the money transfer market is evolving from wire transfers to mobile applications.

Migrants who don’t have access to traditional banking are Ria's core customer base.  Juan Bianchi, CEO & President of Ria Money Transfer, said, “Once the customers gain access to banking, they demand convenience and might want to transact digitally, which we provide as well.” Emphasising on the market for cash transfers Bianchi added, “Sometimes the sender might move to a digital channel but the beneficiary still wants cash.”  

Karthikeyan Balasubramanian, Managing Director of Weizmann Forex Limited, claims that a positive growth is being projected for the money transfer market by the World Bank. However, a recent World Bank report says that money remittance across the globe has declined. While India is still the world’s largest remittance recipient bagging $62.7 billion in 2016, the amount still marks a 8.9% reduction having received $68.9 billion (3.3% of GDP) in 2015.

The digital payments market, with the exception of the Immediate Payment Services (IMPS), is growing with a steady increase in the use of credit and debit cards, electronic fund transfers and most prominently, mobile banking. Bianchi said that the company is not threatened by imminent digitisation due to the compnay's heavy investments in the digital market.

Ria also announced its new ‘gold standard’ money transfer service that offers beneficiaries in India the chance to win pure gold prizes. Bianchi said that Ria is the fastest growing money transfer company in the world with a growth of approximately 15-17 per cent as against competitors who are growing at single digit or flat rates.  

Money transfer services now promise remittance of cash to the specified location within a day, in order to keep up with the fast paced world of instant transfer, even offering bank-to-bank transfers within fifteen minutes. However, the fees charged serve as a deterrent in a market that offers digital transfers at a cheaper rate or free of cost. In a world that is embracing digitisation, money transfer companies may soon have to consider restructuring their business models, not just for growth but for mere survival.