Commentary from Akshat Mittal, Head of Strategy for Revolut International Payments:

Traditionally, sending money across borders has been difficult and expensive. Thus, people have relied on informal means of money transfers that are often unpredictable. However, with the growing trend of digital payments, people can now send money from their money app provider outside of traditional banking hours, from their home, and without having to travel to a bank or money transfer service. Enabling people to send money home conveniently and affordably has led to a surge in international money transfers.

With over 30 million Revolut customers around the world, we’ve noticed the volume of money transfers spike during cultural celebrations, as they can often serve as important occasions for individuals and communities to come together and connect with loved ones through generosity.

This year, for Eid al-Adha, we saw a 62% increase in money sent to predominantly muslim countries from our customers in the UK and Europe, year on year (2023 vs 2022). Last year, we saw a volume increase of 176%, as compared to 2021. The top recipient countries of Revolut international money transfers for Eid al-Adha are the United Arab Emirates, Turkey, Indonesia, Morocco, and Malaysia.

We recognise the increased significance of international transfers during a variety of cultural calendar moments. We have observed a consistent spike in transfers around Christmas since Revolut started 8 years ago, but as we have expanded, we see new spikes in the calendar.

We saw a 188% increase in money sent to China, Korea, Malaysia, the Philippines, Indonesia, Singapore, Brunei, and Vietnam during Lunar New Year, year on year (2023 vs 2022). Additionally, we saw a 195% increase in money sent to India during Diwali, year on year (2022 vs 2021).

We understand the importance of these traditions, and our commitment to providing easy and affordable international money transfer solutions is shown through offering excellent exchange rates with low fees, not adding international transfer fees for sending between Revolut users, and displaying fees in-app. The average cost of sending $100 for specific corridors is an average cost of just 0.23$, amplifying the impact of our customers’ hard-earned money.

The increase of international money transfers comes as we launched Revolut Lite in several countries in December last year. Our Revolut Lite customers can now make competitive international transfers in 25+ currencies, quickly and easily. People living in Revolut Lite countries can download the Revolut app and sign up to access the streamlined version.

Money can be sent across the globe in a flash, with the majority of transfers completing within one working day. In fact, 70% of our international transfers arrive in less than 20 seconds.

We remain dedicated to leveraging innovative technology and our expansive network to facilitate affordable and convenient international money transfers. By continuously adapting to the evolving needs of the digital economy, we hope to continue to empower individuals and families around the world to navigate the complexities of cross-border finance with ease.