Every year, migrant workers send over $700 billion back to their families across borders. This money pays for school fees in Lagos, medical bills in Lahore, and rent in Manila. It is the financial lifeline that connects diasporic communities to their homes.
Yet the system that moves this money was built decades ago and has barely changed. Traditional banks charge an average of 6.4% per transaction. For a worker in Dubai sending $200 to Pakistan, that is nearly $13 gone before the money even leaves the country. Wire transfers take 3-5 business days. Exchange rates are marked up beyond what you see on Google. And the process involves paperwork, branch visits, and operating hours that do not align with the schedules of people working 12-hour shifts.
The core problem is infrastructure. Banks rely on correspondent banking networks — chains of intermediary institutions that each take a cut. A transfer from the UAE to Bangladesh might pass through three or four banks before reaching the recipient. Each one adds fees, delays, and opacity to the process.
Modern fintech companies like Shaheen Money are rebuilding this infrastructure from the ground up. By combining stablecoin rails with local payment networks, we can move money in seconds at a fraction of the cost. The technology exists. The demand is overwhelming. The only question is how quickly the old system will be replaced by something that actually serves the people who need it most.