Migrant Workers, Money Transfers and Technology

Technology creeps into our lives, transforming who we conduct our lives, our businesses, even our interactions with family and friends. Our mobiles have become a lifeline, at times, for reaching out and seeing the face, and hearing the voice, of a loved one who is thousands of miles away. What a joy this technology is. On less emotional terms, the technology on our mobiles can make our everyday lives easier. We can send a few pounds to a friend in need, pay our bills, as well as transfer our money from and to different accounts. All the while having a cup of coffee at your favourite cafe on the corner, watching the world go by.

Ah, live is good. Now imagine that you have loved ones living in another country. A country that is not as rich in resources and opportunities as in the UK. Loved ones who count on you to send them money, on a regular basis, so that they may live a slightly better life. Now technology just got a lot more exciting and helpful. It has become a vital lifeline for many families of migrant workers in the UK.

For many years, money transfers to another country was a day long affair. Going off to the bank or brick and mortar shopfront that caters to money transfers. The paperwork and the information needed to make that transfer happen was astounding compared to what we have in the way of software and technology. We can’t forget the costs either. The bank fees and currency exchange fees – it was expensive.

For customers who need to send money out of the country, advances in mobile technology is helping to make the transfers easier and less expensive. Customers now have more choice. Using a smartphone, with just a few swipes, their money can be sent. The mechanics of money transferring is becoming more convenient and secure. It is also driving down the costs, which is of great benefit to all, especially migrant workers who want to send as much money as they can to their families while still being able to live and work in the UK.

Money transfers, according to the World Bank, is a vital lifeline for many and is worth almost $500 billion annually. There are approximately 700 million people globally who are supported by money transfers. Incredible numbers to think about. We are truly a global village and technology is making the art of reaching out easier.

Be Careful Out There – Money Laundering is No Joke

Money laundering is often thought of as a ‘Mob’ type activity. Most people think that they would be involved in it, knowingly or not. Most people would be surprised to learn that in just nine months last year there were 8,652 cases of young people who became ‘money mules’ for money launderers in the UK. The most vulnerable age is between 18 and 24. A ‘money mule’ is someone who moves large sums of cash for a criminal entity in order to ‘clean’ the money by funnelling it through legal channels. Some knew that what they were doing was illegal, but many weren’t aware. A study showed that one third of people would apply for jobs that they think are legitimate but are really ‘money mule’ jobs.

Fake ads are showing up more and more these days and they can be really hard to spot as fake. One way to avoid falling into this trap is to think to yourself – if an offer sounds too good to be true, it probably is. Vulnerable people are those who have little or no income. They are usually young but don’t have to be. Anyone wanting easy cash can fall for these scams and find themselves involved in illegal activities that could leave them facing life-changing consequences such as having your bank account closed to facing a jail term of up to 14 years. Keep in mind that money laundering often supports criminal activities such as people trafficking, drugs, and even terrorism.

Some ways to avoid these fake ads and falling victim to them are: not clicking on any link that is asking you to verify or update your bank account details; not answering a call or text from an unfamiliar number regarding your bank account; remember your bank would never ask you for your
personal information over the phone and would never ask you to transfer money from your account, for any reason; and always respond to emails or phone messages by visiting your bank’s website and calling or emailing a person from the actually bank.

Again, if it sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t. If you’re unsure about a phone message or email, ask a friend or your bank. Simon Dukes, chief executive of Cifas, said: "This is a serious issue that not only has consequences for the money mule, but for society as a whole. We want to educate young people about how serious this fraud is in the hope that they will think twice before getting involved." So be smart and stay safe.

Saving Money Sending Money

Sending money abroad is a huge industry in the UK and navigating the various systems can be a headache. You want to ensure that your money is safe throughout the transaction, but you also want to pay the lowest fees to make the transfer as painless as possible. Your hard-earned money can’t be ‘played’ with lightly, especially given the turbulent political landscape that is the UK right now. The pound has fallen significantly against most other currencies since the Brexit vote and will continue to do fluctuate up and down in the future.

You definitely don’t want to seek out the best exchange rate by jeopardising the security of your money. The last thing you need is to lose your money to a high-risk transfer agency or firm. So you need to do your homework in order to make a transfer that is at a good rate, for a low cost, and is secure enough for you to have confidence in the transaction.

First, consider how much you’re sending and how often you’re wanting to send it. You might want to set up recurring transfers to a family member. Perhaps you’re working in the UK but your family is in another country and you want to help support them. Or, perhaps, your child has gone abroad to school and needs you to help with expenses in another country. You may be investing in another property in another country and you need to send funds to purchase that and pay the fees to the various parties. People in the UK send money abroad for all sorts of reasons; finding the best way to send these funds takes a bit of work but will be worthwhile, in the end.

There are three main ways of sending money: a High Street bank, a transfer firm or a foreign exchange broker. The safest way would be through a bank but you’re unlikely to get good exchange rates and the fees might not be worth it. Bank transfers can also take up to a week to process.
Money transfer firms are good for sending money quickly but the fees will be high and the exchange rates fluctuate widely.

A foreign exchange broker is probably your best bet. Their fees are often low or non-existent, they are fast and their currency rates tend to be highly competitive. The software available to these brokers have advanced wonderfully over the years, allowing them to do money transfers for you at a low rate and quite quickly. Ask around, look for ratings for different brokers on the internet as part of your homework. Don’t go running to your bank just because it seems the easiest way to transfer your money. A little investigative work now will pay off for you in the end.

What Software as a Service Is and How It Can Help You

Software as a Service, also known as SaaS, is an application delivery system over the internet. E-mail was one of the first application offered in this manner. For business, the early innovations were things like recruitment, customer relations management, and expenses. SaaS has become a widely-used business model with more and more different kinds of applications available via the cloud.

The ability to get applications up and running very quickly is one of the attractions of SaaS. In-house IT projects can be quite complex and can take a lot of time to set up and implement. A major credit card company’s head of marketing was “like a kid in a candy store when told it would take only five weeks to get a cloud application running. IT had originally quoted 18 months”, according to the Harvard Business Review.

Using packaged or in-house software means that you have to shop around and evaluate, purchase, install, keep secure, maintain, and regularly upgrade. This places an added burden on your IT team, with the possibility of projects getting back-logged and not done on time. Integration of the various applications could be tricky and time consuming. SaaS comes as a relief.

SaaS keeps growing and more businesses are turning to this model for their applications. The growing use of mobiles in business has taken great advantage of Software as a Service. You no longer have to be in the office to be able to access your work. The increase in the standard internet connectivity speeds makes working remotely a lot easier these days. Files can be synced, as well, so when you return to the office you can continue on your computer as if you had never left.

The standardisation of digital technologies makes it easier to integrate and share cloud-based programs and services. These common protocols allow users to work on multiple devices, all the while having a better experience. More and more users are happy to work in this way thanks to the familiarity, usability and simplicity of web-like environments.

Having no software or hardware to purchase, install, maintain or update makes SaaS very attractive to many businesses. As a user, there’s little to do until you actually start using the software. Familiar web-based interfaces is a major draw to SaaS, building on the consumer web that users already know. Updates are often made regularly so there is no need to put IT resources into maintenance. The ability to work, in real time, either remotely or with others who are located elsewhere is a big draw for businesses towards SaaS.

As computing systems increase in sophistication and power, SaaS has kept pace, moving up from simple single applications and becoming a practical approach for large or enterprise-scale solutions. The benefits of SaaS are many. The service costs are scaled, depending on the size of your business and the number of applications you need and the number of people who will be working on them. If you have offices across the country or the globe, everyone in your company can access the same applications and the same data, at the same time.

The future of SaaS will see even more growth in the industry. The cloud approach can help companies develop end-to-end integrated solutions and allow them to concentrate on what they do best, leaving a wide range of hardware and software IT issues to service providers. Long-term relationships with SaaS will grow and the input from you, their customers, will help to make Software as a Service even better. Understanding customer’s needs and being able to deliver solutions is placing SaaS as the go-to service for many businesses.

Due Diligence Required to Avoid Money Laundering Companies

Money laundering is the term used when someone transforms the profits of crime or corruption into legitimate funds. It got its name from turning ‘dirty money’ into ‘clean money’ through various channels, including money exchange. There are certain day-to-day responsibilities a business must abide by in order to avoid being an unwilling participant in money laundering. There are customer due diligence measures, along with internal controls and monitoring systems that you must have in place.

The regulations surrounding the responsibilities of businesses in regards to money laundering are based on the size and scope of the business. The UK government website has all of the details laid out and it would be wise to read the material they have so that your business is in line and acting accordingly. This article gives a rough view of these regulations, but it is not exhaustive nor is it to be construed as a guideline.

One of the main areas that needs to be controlled is customer due diligence. You’ll need to apply this due diligence when: you establish a business relationship, you suspect money laundering or terrorist financing, you have doubts about identification information you obtained previously, or when an existing customer’s circumstances change. There are monetary markers or thresholds that you must be aware of, as well. Even if you only carry out the occasional transaction in your business, customer due diligence is still necessary.

Customer due diligence means taking steps to identify your customers and checking they are who they say they are. In practice this means obtaining a customer’s name, a photograph on an official document which confirms their identity, their residential address and their date of birth. Asking for a government issued document like a passport is a good start. You will also have to ask for documents that confirm they reside at the address they give you. This can be in the form of a utility bill or bank statement that has been sent to their address, in their name. If you have doubts about a customer’s identity, you shouldn’t deal with them until those doubts have been assuaged.

Enhance due diligence is necessary in cases where, for instance, the customer isn’t physically present or where the customer is another Money Service Business. When the customer is trying to do business with you online, they are not physically present. In our global world, this is not uncommon but enhanced due diligence is necessary to ensure you are not getting yourself involved in a money laundering scheme. To safeguard yourself and your business you must obtain further information to establish the customer’s identity. You should also apply extra measures to check documents supplied by a credit or financial institution. Finding out where funds have come from and what the purpose of the transaction is, is common sense and good practice.

If you find yourself dealing with another money service business, you need to seriously consider applying enhanced due diligence. This situation presents a higher risk of money laundering or terrorist financing because the money you receive will be a ‘bulk transfer’ representing a collection of underlying transactions placed with your customer. The extent of enhanced due diligence measures you apply should be based on the risk and circumstances of each case.

Internal controls and monitoring systems are a must for your business. Creating an anti-money laundering policy, including what controls and procedures are in place to prevent money laundering, provides a good framework. Keeping this document updated, and your employees trained on what they should be looking for, will help to secure your business from the risks of money laundering. Ensure that your business is compliant by visiting the UK government website and carrying out a risk assessment. You can keep your business safe by following these rules and regulations.

Benefits of FOREX

The foreign exchange marketplace is arguably one of the most fascinating, complex and simultaneously intimidating trading environments on the planet. A decentralised, round-the-clock world of buying and selling, foreign exchange remains a somewhat opaque arena for those who have not been properly acquainted with the fine details of its workings. How-ever, those who are willing make the substantial time investment required to master its opera-tions will likely uncover many benefits.

Perhaps one of the most appealing perks of the foreign exchange marketplace is the oppor-tunity to practice and refine new strategies without any upfront financial investment. After selecting a preferred trading platform, both amateur and professional investors will gain the ability to undertake mock-trading. For those who have never traded within the foreign ex-change marketplace before, this will serve as an excellent hands-on introduction. Profes-sional investors will find such practice to be an excellent vehicle for simulating the effects of newly conceived investment strategies.In fact it is quite possible that an investor may actively trade in both a legitimate account as well as a practice account, ensuring that their real world trades are backed by extensive experience within simulators.

Investors who are savvy with technology will find the foreign exchange marketplace to be particularly stimulating due in large part to the fact that the trading platforms powering this marketplace are constantly evolving. The decentralised nature of foreign exchange has re-sulted in the growth of trading platforms in countries around the world, each of which Is ac-tively competing for the attention of investors. With this in mind it should come as no surprise that platform developers are constantly seeking to gain an edge over their competitors. Such competition can only serve to benefit investors. Instead of being forced to navigate ageing platforms commonly found in the equities and stock markets, foreign exchange investors will enjoy an intuitive and engaging experience powered by cutting-edge software.

For those with an appetite for risk, foreign exchange offers many benefits, namely an exten-sive leveraging system by which large amounts of investment capital can be accessed with relatively small initial deposits. It is quite common for investors to trade well over four hun-dred times the amount of capital they currently have available. While such a system obvi-ously comes with its fair share of risks, the rewards cannot be ignored. Far from an anomaly, leverage of this nature is a commonly observed phenomenon within the foreign exchange marketplace.

As stated previously, there exists fierce competition amongst platform developers seeking to attract new clients. Because of this, a growing number of loyalty programs now exist which provide financial rewards for investors who make repeated trades on a single platform. This is likely to be a refreshing change of pace from traditional online stock platforms, where hefty charges are levied against every trade. In fact, there now exist loyalty programs within the forex environment where investors are compensated for each trade they make.

Last, but certainly not least, among benefits found within the foreign exchange marketplace are the numerous opportunities for free education and consulting services offered by today’s leading forex platforms. In an effort to dispel notions that forex is a cryptic and undeciphera-ble world, trading platforms are working diligently to help new investors master the basics of trading as quickly as possible. In recent years, transparency and engagement have become core principles of operation.

As you can see, there are no shortage of benefits available to those seeking admittance into the exciting world of foreign exchange. Now is the time to begin your own personal journey into a fascinating niche of today’s financial services industry. Good luck, and happy invest-ing!

Why Use Forex Trading Software?

Even if you are only casually interested in the world of foreign exchange trading, you’ve probably noticed that this particular branch of the financial marketplace relies heavily upon various software platforms in order to keep traders connected to the forex exchanges. The decentralised nature of the forex marketplace has transformed it into a unique environment in which investors and traders can access forex exchanges on an almost 24 hour basis. With that in mind, it could be argued that forex trading software acts as a powerful administrative and strategic resource for those who are active here.

Perhaps one of the most significant advantages of forex trading software is the ability for in-vestors to both view historical trends and simulate the effects of new investment strategies on current marketplace activity. The scope and complexity of the foreign exchange market-place has often made it seem inaccessible or threatening for those seeking to break in. Using forex software, many of these hurdles can be overcome quickly and allow novice traders to explore what the marketplace has to offer.

Forex trading software is also an excellent defence against unexpected volatility which may occur during the off hours when investors are either sleeping or away from their computers. Using a series of automated protocols, investors can develop their own pre-programmed ‘re-actions’ to any number of market conditions. Were these conditions to be fulfilled during ‘off-hours’, the software could act on its own to engage the strategies set forth by the investor. For some, these automated processes act as a form of much-needed insurance in a market-place which has gained much notoriety for its dynamic shifts.

For some, the benefits of forex trading software lie in the “non-human” nature of its process-es. Like it or not, our emotions continually serve as a triggers, compelling us to make deci-sions or (in this case) engage in trades which may or may not actually serve the best inter-ests of our agendas. Yet another benefit of these automated trading processes is that they can effectively limit human participation to a certain extent and act as an impartial executor of the trader’s intent. While intuition and instinct obviously have their place in financial trading, the automated systems provided by many forex trading platforms allows those who may have difficulty separating their emotions from a trade to keep a healthy distance from their earlier strategic decision making.

Perhaps a final benefit of foreign exchange trading software which should be mentioned is the fact that these tools are offered at a variety of price points, allowing individuals from across a broad array of experiences and professions to get involved if they so choose. For example, students wishing to learn more about the marketplaces can use some of the less expensive trading platforms and explore the market simulators provided within them. Like-wise, trading professionals can invest in much more expensive packages and reap the benefits of extensive automation and research tools to help maximise their continued success. Regardless of where you may be at in your knowledge of or interest in the foreign exchange marketplace, it will definitely be worth your time to download a trial version of any of the leading software packages available today. These tools will help alleviate much of the initial con-fusion that traders feel when entering the foreign exchange arena for the first time. Trading software has helped to bring an increasing number of traders into the foreign exchange mar-ketplace, and for good reason. Using these tools, it is entirely possible for novice traders to gain deep insight into the marketplace and for experienced traders to maintain their professional careers.

Tips for Starting a Business in Currency Exchange

Sending money nationally or internationally, exchanging money, trading online, or starting a money transfer business or Bureau de Change, all need the support of a well-known and well-versed company to help you on your way. Trying to figure out what the best way to transfer money can be like trying to figure your way out of a maze. Even Consumers International, an international watchdog, has stated that: “The current industry standard allows for opaque pricing, which obscures unfavourable currency conversion rates, hides the real cost to the consumer and makes it almost impossible for the consumer to ‘comparison-shop’.”

Dealing with exchange rates while exchanging money can be also be tricky, especially if banks are involved. The Australian consumer watchdog, Choice, says: “There’s no way to know how much might go missing in the course of an international money transfer. Unexpected fees and a laughably bad exchange rate could cost you hundreds of dollars along the way – especially if banks are involved.”

They say it’s easy to open a money transfer or exchange office but running it smoothly and cost-effectively is another thing. Knowledge is power and, in these businesses, knowledge comes from experience and constant exploration into the money market world. If you don’t have the experience and knowledge, you can find it at VinIt Solutions.

VinIt Solutions is here to give you support in your endeavours. We have high quality, innovative products that are based on years of experience to deliver easy to use products and services. Our services are second to none. We work closely with our customers, whether they are a small start-up or a large corporation. Operating in full transparency, VinIt connects with customers on a personal level. This allows for professional relationships to grow, so that VinIt can be your solution.

How to find the best Forex software for you

The Foreign Exchange market is the largest currency trading market in the world. Once you understand the basics of currency trading, there are great profits to be made and you will simply have to plan your trades carefully.

Forex (the Foreign Exchange Market) differs from stock markets in that it can take just a few seconds for a trade to open up and close. The Internet has become a vital tool for communities who make global Forex trading profits. With so much money involved in Forex (around US$2 trillion being traded daily), prices are unaffected by any single investor.

To succeed in this rapidly paced trading world, you will need to have a Forex account backed up by some successful trading strategies. You don’t need to have any Forex trading education but it’s advisable to seek the guidance of someone who has successful Forex experience. It’s important to understand that even if a strategy has worked for someone else it may not be right for you. Begin only with small trades, as the temptation to dive straight in can have severe consequences and result in a loss of capital.

At the beginning, you may want to consider the option of Forex trading software if you are planning to trade of the market. The software programs work by compiling information about the stock market prices. There are two different types of software available.

Web based software – if you plan on being successful in Forex you will need to have a high-speed Internet connection so that you have up to date information exactly when you need it. This form of software is convenient and can be accessed from any computer through your login details. It also benefits from being less susceptible to viruses and it’s not very easy to hack due to the high security standards that have been implemented.

Client based software – this software can only be accessed on the computer that it’s been installed on. It can also pose potential security risks unlike the web based version. The advantage of this type is that it updates you regularly about changes to the market.

Ensure your software offers you two main things:

Provides you with real-time quotes

And gives you the means to trade quickly

A steady supply of information is always provided as brokers store client information on two different severs in different locations. This then transfers all information to the other server should there ever be a failure. Brokers also have back-up systems to ensure that no data is lost under any circumstances.

Once you have your preferred software in place you will be able to begin trading, if you use your head well the possibilities are endless

Category: Money Laundering