As a business dealing with global clients, you would frequently engage in international payments and money transfers. A significant component of this flow is inward remittance—the process by which money is sent or received internationally. Security and efficiency of such inward remittances are paramount. End-to-end payment tracking plays a key role here. The global financial systems are complex and as a user, you desire visibility and control over international payments. In this blog, we will learn more about how end-to-end payment tracking is helpful in inbound remittance.
What is Inward Remittance?
Inward remittance refers to funds sent from a foreign source into a recipient’s local bank account or digital wallet. Inward remittances are essential to many economies, particularly in countries that receive high volumes of foreign remittances. In case you do not know, India is globally the highest recipient of international remittances. The amount is close to $115 billion.
Improper management of inbound remittances can often lead to delays, currency conversion issues, and even loss of funds. Due to the presence of multiple banks and intermediaries, the process becomes much more complex and prone to errors. This is where end-to-end payment tracking comes in. As a key stakeholder, you enjoy more speed, accuracy, and transparency in international payments. Here’s why end-to-end payment tracking in inward remittances matters and how it benefits everyone.
Why End-to-End Payment Tracking for Inward Remittances Matters
Let’s explore how end-to-end payment tracking in the context of inbound remittances optimizes reliability, speed, transparency, and much more.
Ensures Transparency and Builds Trust
You could encounter a situation where your client tells you that they have initiated the amount transfer but the money is not in your account. The worst part could be that there is no visibility into where the money is. Situations like these can raise anxiety and lead to distrust. Unfortunately, this is how traditional international remittance processes work. They are often opaque and both the senders and recipients are left in the dark about the status and locations of their funds. End-to-end payment tracking on the other hand offers the much-needed transparency in international payments and inward remittance. Both parties can monitor the progress of the transaction from start to finish. This reduces uncertainties and both the sender and recipient tend to trust the financial institution handling the transaction.
Lowers Transaction Costs
When there are multiple steps and stakeholders involved in a process, each has an interest to look after. Similarly, in international remittances, each player imposes their fees leading to a higher overall cost. End-to-end tracking can help reduce these costs by streamlining the transaction process and minimizing the need for intermediaries. In our experience as a trusted international payment solutions partner for many companies, we have seen that our clients earlier relied on costly traditional methods that were inefficient, to say the least. After adopting Zaggle International Payments (ZIP), they did not incur separate fees for FIRA/FIRC documents and enjoyed transparent FX rates with a timestamp reducing their overall costs.
Reduces Risk of Fraud and Financial Crimes
International payments due to their cross-border nature are vulnerable to fraudulent activities. End-to-end payment tracking in inward remittances offers you the much-needed scrutiny. With higher transparency along the transaction path, you can comply with anti-money laundering (AML) and know-your-customer (KYC) regulations at every step. This minimizes the scope of illicit activities and ensures that legitimate funds are transferred.
Better Analytics Lead to Actionable Insights
Data is just data until it is put to use in a manner that generates insights. The end-to-end tracking feature of a good inward remittance system offers you better analytical capabilities. The dashboards are designed such that you can analyze the data and gain insights from it. These insights help you identify areas of leakage and cracks. You can fix your issues by understanding which step of the inbound remittance is incurring the maximum cost, both in terms of money and time.
Enhances Efficiency and Reduces Delays
The long process and multiple intermediaries often delay the process. End-to-end tracking simplifies the process by providing real-time updates on the transaction status at each intermediary step. When you have real-time visibility, you can address bottlenecks to reduce delays. On the other hand, reconciliation of all invoices as per client and country further reduces the efficiency. An end-to-end tracking system helps you reconcile in real time and avoid unnecessary delays and post-transaction workload.
Provides Accurate Exchange Rate and Fee Information
Imagine you were to receive money from your overseas client but you do not have access to the exact exchange rate on a real-time basis. It would not just increase your anxiety but also make the process dependent on your clients fantasies. End-to-end payment tracking gives you access to accurate information on exchange rates and fees in real time. Exchange rates can fluctuate significantly during a transaction, especially in volatile markets. There are tools like Zaggle International Payments (ZIP) that provide you with the up to date exchange rate with a timestamp. This is particularly helpful where there are multiple steps and the rates may vary at each step.
Facilitates Smoother Customer Experience
Imagine dealing with your bank’s relationship manager frequently to follow up on the inward remittance status. Your finance team will be receiving frequent inward remittances and have to frequently connect with their bank’s relationship manager for compliance documents and other issues every time they receive an inbound remittance. Implementing a solution like Zaggle International Payments (ZIP) minimizes manual intervention and makes the process much smoother for them.
Conclusion
End-to-end payment tracking for inward remittances is transforming the international payments landscape. It offers greater transparency, enhances security, reduces costs, and empowers recipients. With tools like Zaggle International Payments (ZIP), one can achieve more. Some unique features like seamless integration with third-party tools enhance the end-to-end tracking feature of an inward remittance system. Moreover, when you can track your international payments, especially inbound remittances, on an end-to-end basis, reconciliation of all invoices as per countries and regions becomes easier. This helps you gain more efficiency and reduce your costs.
If you would like to learn more about how Zaggle International Payments (ZIP) can help you ease your operations and reduce your costs, reach out to us today.