Mobile banking app provider Betalo is adding discount international transfers to broaden relationships with its customer base in Sweden.
The Stockholm-based company made the international money transfer upgrade to its iOS and Android apps in response to customer feedback indicating a need to send money abroad. The company will support 35 countries in 10 different currencies with new countries being added continuously through the year.
Betalo already provides domestic money transfers, bill payment and other services as a registered payment institution supervised by Sweden's Financial Supervisory Authority. Betalo contends its service will be far less expensive than other money transfer options.
Betalo charges a 0.5% transfer fee for the service and uses a transparent exchange rate with zero markup that is guaranteed during the entire transfer process. "Each year Swedes transfer billions of SEK [Swedish krona] abroad," Stefan Salomonsson, CEO at Betalo, stated in a Feb. 10 press release. "Until today, international transfers have meant high fees, often higher than 4% of the transfer amount."
The company also wants to operate without the "frequent hidden fees" and an exchange rate that is often not known until days after the money transfer is complete, Salomonsson added. Betalo users log into the app through mobile BankID and establish a payment card as the source of funds. After inputting the name, address and bank routing of a recipient, they are able to make international transfers.
