(Source: International Fund for Agricultural Development).
At Peers Exchange, we believe in keeping money in the hands of those who need it.
Peers Exchange is an international peer-to-peer currency exchange and payment platform. Our users, called PEEXers, are paired up strategically to help them avoid expensive fees from banks and other institutions like Western Union or Moneygram.
We currently operate in the US, EU, and Cameroon. Here’s how we bring the typical 8-12% international money transfer fees down to 1%:
Everyone gets the money they need and no banks profit from migrant workers!
We conducted a trial run of our service during the development process. This trail run provided huge concept validation: $1.2 million worth of transactions were completed. 80% of those transactions came from migrant workers in the US sending money back home to family in Cameroon. With our web and mobile platform now ready for beta testing, we’re excited to take Peers Exchange to the next level!
As globalization continues to accelerate, we also plan to diversify our services to include international school fee payments, online payment processing, and escrow services for international purchases. According to the World Bank, 90% of money transfer happens between friends and families who are most likely connected on social media. This connection between send and receive parties presents huge potential for social-media-based money transfer. This seems like a win-win situation as it provides social media players like PEEX an additional opportunity.
Peers Exchange will soon become the world leader in international payments!
Peers Exchange is entering a market with tremendous opportunity. The current state of affairs cannot continue any longer and being the first-to-market with an alternative option will enable us to lead this space for years to come. To fully understand the opportunity in front of us, you need to understand a few key things:
Why Migrant Workers?
Migrant workers are the perfect entry into the market because their needs have been the most marginalized. It’s all about remittance, the act of sending money internationally to help support family members.
According to the World Bank, remittance prices worldwide come in at 8.58%. That means that for every $200 USD sent (the typical, most standard transaction amount), hardworking expats are losing more than $17 USD.
Why Africa?
The situation is even more dire in Africa, where people are forced to pay a “remittance supertax.” On average, remittance rates are 3.5% higher in Africa, leading to a world-leading 12% in remittance fees.
Why Nigeria Specifically?
Of all the remittance needs in African countries, Nigeria has consistently topped the list in terms of value of remittances received per year. Worldwide, they are in the top five along with India, China, Philippines, and Mexico.
The Need For Transparency
The World Bank conducted a survey of 598 remittance service providers and deemed 76 of them (nearly 13%) to be non-transparent with their pricing. The most egregious type of provider? Banks. From the survey results:
The bottom line: the current situation is failing. The time to act is now. Migrant workers around the world are noticing this failed state and are demanding something better. International organizations are also making remittance reform a priority as well. The G8 committed in 2009 to the “5×5 goal” of reducing the global average fee for remittances to 5% within 5 years. The stars are aligned for Peers Exchange.
As the first peer-to-peer (P2P) exchange service in Africa, we have all the features to make our service by far the best option for people sending money to Africa, and soon, for any international transfer around the world.
Unique advantages to Peers Exchange include:
Matching PEEXers
Strategically matching our PEEXers is how we’re able to drive down transaction fees. In addition to straightforward 1:1 money swaps, we can also combine offers to create matches. For example, one person needs to send $200 USD to Africa and two separate people in Africa need to send $100 each to America.
Establishing Trust
At Peers Exchange, we understand that you need to have 100% trust that the person in Cameroon who said he would send 200 XFA to your mother will actually follow through. We have taken the necessary precautions to ensure all transactions are secure.
Trust is measured through social networks like Facebook, email, mobile number verifications, and peer-to-peer ratings from the other trusted members of the community. PEEXers also provide demographic information about themselves on their profile — the more details, the more trust. These verification measures work the same way Airbnb and Uber verify users, hosts, and guests.
Payment Processing
Once a money transfer agreement is reached between two or more parties, there are two options to complete the transaction:
1. Monthly subscription: exchange money directly with peers (no middleman). Insurance is included with the monthly subscription allowing the sender to recover their money if the other party doesn’t follow through
2. No subscription: We serve as a middleman with escrow services. Users pay PEEX, PEEX pays users. Even for this escrow service, we still only take a maximum of 1% in fees on each side.
Our trial run proved to be a huge concept validation: a total of $1.2 million was sent between PEEXers.
Overall matching rate is 80%
Our website and mobile app platforms are ready for beta testing as well.
Up Next
After learning about our team below, make sure to request access to the business plan tab of this profile for an inside look into Peers Exchange.
The Peers Exchange team is an extremely well-educated group who is motivated to fix the problems that plague the 230 million migrants worldwide. We are strategically placed around the world to optimize our reach and impact.
Yannick’s professional experience ranges from managing several entrepreneurial projects as well as an oil and gas operation to being the chairman of the Young African Investment Club, an investment group which aims to reconnect Africa with its diaspora. He holds two graduate degrees: an MA in Mechanical Engineering from Cranfield University in the UK and an MSc in Petroleum Engineering from IFP School in Paris. Yannick is based in France.
Based in the USA, Stanislas’ experience spans web design and development, telecoms, CRM, CEX, mobile money, enterprise architecture, and cloud computing. He holds an MSc in Software Engineering and is currently graduating with a MBA from Bradford university school of management. Alongside his social entrepreneurship experience, he spent 10 years working for MTN, the biggest mobile operator in Africa, in diverse operational and strategic roles locally and internationally.
Originally from Cameroon, Yves is a graduate of IE Business School’s Global Executive MBA program. He also holds a Master’s degree in Mechanical Engineering and a BA in Physics. Yves has extensive experience in sales and operations management with Schlumberger, the world leader in oilfield services. He is also a self-motivated leader with over 10 years of entrepreneurial experience in building, operating and growing new companies in central Africa.