iGaming Business – Online payment processor Skrill, a partner of numerous sportsbetting companies, has launched Skrill iT, a new service designed to cut money transfer fees in half and allow expatriates around the world to send more money home.
Skrill iT will be accessible in more than 200 countries to senders and receivers, with money transfers available in 40 different currencies.
The service will allow users to use an email address to send money securely via the internet.
The money is received instantly and can be transferred to a bank account or withdrawn from over 1.9 million ATMs around the world using a Skrill Prepaid MasterCard.
It is estimated that 215 million people currently live outside their country of birth, while the World Bank has predicated the global remittance market will be worth around $608 billion (€456 billion) by 2014 – with $468 billion flowing into developing countries.
The World Bank has also set a goal for global money transfer costs, which currently average at 9%, to be reduced – something Skrill said its new service would help to do.
“Money transfer represents a crucial lifeline for millions. Yet until now, the process has been more reminiscent of the previous century, and not the current digital age,” vice-president of electronic remittances, Jonathan Wood, said.
