In this technologically-driven world, each and every field is getting digitised with its online services. Just like any other, international money transfer has also rushed to create online websites and mobile applications. So, now let’s take a look back, follow our steps backwards and understand what brought us here.
The idea of transferring money by different means comes from an ancient concept dating back to South Asia in the 8th century known as “hawala”. Yes, the Hawala System is where everything started. Hawala is an informal way of transferring goods or money, where people act like agents who form a network of hawala dealers who are simply friends or family members or close acquaintances.
Then comes the immaculate introduction of coins around 600 B.C., stating the obvious that money has been a part of human history for some 3000 years. Coins lead to the coming of paper currencies which was first limited in use within specific cities, towns and areas.
Further with the expansion and movement of people to different places due to industrialization and land redistributions, banks and financial institutions racked their brains to come up with the idea of transferring money to people who are far away, leading to the innovation of wire transfers.
Wire transfer began in the 19th century and has since become one of the most effective ways of transferring money worldwide. As the popularity of wire transfers spread, several private companies bloomed to offer overseas transaction services without the banking environment.
Then comes another milestone in the history of the transfer, electronic money transfer (EFT) that changed the face of the financial world. Financial institutions have begun to process payments electronically rather than checks or cash, giving rise to a dramatic increase in electronic payments through credit cards.
A bit after came the “Internet” that shook all corners of the world with its wings carefully sprouting with ease and better convenience. Internet facilities led to the rise of online money transfers and the expansion of the internet to mobile phones led to the spring of mobile applications for international money transfers.
Do you see that? Although it seemed everything happened so suddenly, it took years and centuries to reach this moment where the best online money transfer in Australia and other parts of the world could utilize the nuances of this digital era to facilitate overseas transfers.
