Nothing says family like money and – probably – the quintessential American experience is captured by the immigrant worker who sticks a few dollars in an envelope, glues on an airmail stamp and sends that $5 or $20 off to Mumbai or Lahore.

We now are in National Family Month  which means it is especially apt to revisit remittances which, for the record, are hugely important to tens of millions of family budgets.  The World Bank, in its 2011 remittance report, estimated that $483 billion crossed borders in remittance payments in 2011.  $351 billion went to developing nations such as India ($58 billion), China ($57 billion), Mexico ($24 billion) and the Philippines ($23 billion).  Said the World Bank: “Remittances sent home by migrants to developing countries are three times the size of official development assistance and represent a lifeline for the poor.”

But there is a problem – so much of remittances still move in an analog way (cash in an envelope) and how much goes astray before it reaches its intended target?  How many days elapse before money that in fact winds up in the right pockets actually gets there?

Another, loud complaint about cross-border money movement are the fees charged by the companies that move money electronically which, frankly, are often usurious.

The reality: this whole system is long overdue for an update to reflect a digital era.

There has to be a better way.

Right now, in the United States, there’s incredible buzz in banking circles around person to person (p2p) payments, that often are facilitated by very big players (trillion dollar banks and huge ecommerce companies – you know the names).

But let me tell you: in a rural village in India where there is no computer because there is no electricity, they are waiting for something that will get the money there safer and faster and without a whole lot of high-tech infrastructure required.

Enter Boom, a mobile banking service from my company, m-Via, where the only technology required to send, or receive, money is a cellphone and notice I did not say smartphone.  If a phone does SMS it can Boom and that puts this service within reach of hundreds of millions of global consumers.

Boom is not alone – others are circling this space – but the news is that there are immense downward pressures on fees.  A consumer wants to send $50 home to mom in Tulum, Mexico?  With Boom there is no cost to send money.  Members pay a $25 yearly membership fee and if they load cash into their accountant at a local grocer or convenience store such as 7-Eleven, they may be charged a nominal fee by the store owner.  That’s it, unlimited money transfers for one low price.  Boom members can withdraw cash from their account using any ATM machine.

And the money will get there in minutes.

Lots of merchants are signing up to be able to handle incoming Boom payments – why not?  Some of that cash probably will get spent in the store that pays it out.  That is win win – convenient for recipients, revenue producing for the retailers that are cash distribution points.

The headline for Family Month really is: there now are much better ways to send money home.

And this, definitely, is something for families to celebrate because they will get to keep more of their money.

About the author:

Bill Barhydt, m-Via, CEO

Bill Barhydt is the CEO of m-Via. Bill is an internationally recognized expert on the future of payments and money who believes that people need to start thinking differently about money and payments.  Democratization of currencies and universal access to banking services are at the heart of Bill’s beliefs on the future of money.  

At m-Via, Bill and his team are creating an entirely new category of mobile banking and payments for unbanked consumers in the Americas. Bill has been a pioneer in Internet and Mobile technologies for 20+ years. In 2000 the World Economic Forum recognized Bill as one of the original group of 30 technology pioneers for his work in Internet technologies at WebSentric. Bill worked on some of the earliest Internet/Web payment services projects as Technical Director for Netscape and learned the inner workings of money at Goldman Sachs in their Fixed Income Group. It is Bill’s hope that the financial centers of our planet migrate from Manhattan to Silicon Valley and from London to Nairobi.

Follow Bill on Twitter: @billbarhydt