Per capita, Canadians send more money abroad than any other country in the world—nearly twice as much as Americans, and nearly four times as much as Europeans.
With immigration targets to bring in 450,000 newcomers annually, that $29 billion market is only expected to grow.
While we’ve seen some advances in the global money transfer market in recent years, the reality is that many friends and family still wait days for transfers to clear and transfer fees can add up quickly.
To shake that up, CIBC and Simplii Financial have announced a major enhancement to the Global Money Transfer platform, through a collaboration with Citibank and Alipay.
Clients can now make transfers directly from their Simplii or CIBC bank accounts to any of the 1.3 billion Alipay mobile wallets with no transfer fees, in real time.
“We want to make sending money to friends and family abroad as fast, safe, and easy as it is domestically,” says Jimmy Dinh, Managing Director, Direct Financial Services, CIBC Capital Markets. “Together, Simplii and CIBC are breaking down the barriers that can make remittances a costly waiting game.”
It’s the latest development from CIBC’s Direct Financial Services business which is building a unique set of digital-first solutions for CIBC clients, as well as direct banking clients at Simplii.
This enhancement represents an important step in CIBC’s Direct Financial Services’ differentiated strategy to outperform in Canada’s burgeoning $29 billion remittance market and build closer ties with the country’s growing population of newcomers.
On a per capita basis, Canadians send nearly twice as much money abroad as their U.S. counterparts, and nearly quadruple that of their European counterparts, a figure that is expected to increase as Canada welcomes more newcomers in the coming years.
“Our clients will appreciate the convenience and savings of having this service offered by their bank,” adds Dinh. “With 90% of China’s population on Alipay, we know that this collaboration will demonstrate to prospective clients that we’re well positioned to meet their needs.”
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