• François Briod, Co-founder at Monito


• 24.10.2017 08:30 am
undisclosed , François Briod is the co-founder and CEO of Monito, a comparison tool that provides a new way for people to find, compare and review money transfer services and fees when sending money abroad. François is a social entrepreneur that focuses on opportunities brought by new technologies to empower individuals and tackle global challenges. He previously co-founded Direction N’tolo, a non-profit organisation offering scholarships and micro-credit to underprivileged young people in Cameroon, when he was eight years old with his brother Pascal and their cousins.

Today’s move by Transferwise to drop money transfer fees for UK customers is a welcome one, especially in the face of massive unpredictability surrounding Sterling’s value in the last year.

While Brits are losing £600 million per year in excessive international transfer fees, Monito welcomes any initiative to offer more affordable ways to send money. Thanks to its new pricing, Transferwise is now the cheapest way to send £5,000 to the United States.

However, the newly introduced pricing also increases the total cost of sending very small amounts with Transferwise, as well as money transfers to Japan, Poland, Hong Kong, Bulgaria, and Colombia. This highlights the need to compare all available money transfer services before each transfer.

Transferwise’s decision to reduce transfer fees will likely cause a ripple effect amongst competitors within the international money transfer industry. Companies that follow suit and promote transparency will win over consumers and ultimately, come out on top.