Travelex and Nium launch new digital payments offering in Hong Kong

By Leandra Monteiro

Travelex, a foreign exchange brand, alongside global payments platform Nium, has today announced the launch of its new digital remittance offering (“Travelex International Money Transfer”) to users in Hong Kong. Already live in Australia and Singapore, this digital remittance offering – powered by Nium’s global payment rails and real-time payment capabilities – enables Travelex users in Hong Kong to remit money to more than 50 markets across the world almost instantly.

Over recent years, Hong Kong has developed a diversified and inclusive payment ecosystem that enables residents to make instant domestic fund transfers via the Faster Payment System (FPS). However, cross-border payment remains to be a challenge given the long processing time and high costs involved, with the local government looking at ways to enhance and speed up its cross-border bank remittance services.

Cameron Hume, Managing Director, Travelex Asia Pacific said, “Expanding our Travelex digital suite to offer digital remittance services to users in Hong Kong is a natural next step for us. With social distancing measures still in place across the globe, we understand the growing need for customers to have access to faster and more convenient ways to transfer funds across borders. We are excited to offer this new service to Hong Kong users, providing them a seamless way to send funds abroad.”

As part of this partnership, Travelex will leverage Nium’s Remittance-as-a-Service (RaaS) solution, which makes it easier for companies to become payment providers and offer remittance services on their own digital platforms. With RaaS, businesses are not required to build their own payment infrastructure. Instead, they can simply build their brand on top of an existing platform and leverage Nium’s portfolio of regulatory licenses in over 40 countries.

Prajit Nanu, Co-Founder and CEO of Nium, said, “At Nium, we understand the difficulties for businesses to introduce remittance services at scale. This is why our RaaS solution aims to make it more accessible for enterprises of all sizes to facilitate their own payment systems. With a thriving fintech scene in Hong Kong, we’re excited to introduce this remittance service to help boost the city’s status as a global financial centre.”

A Travelex International Money Transfer mobile app will be launched in Hong Kong shortly. Travelex will also continue to expand its digital remittance offering to major markets in Asia Pacific in the coming months. Consumers in Hong Kong, Singapore, and Australia can now access Travelex International Money Transfer via their local Travelex website.