ZED Network Eyes US$600B Remittance Market With Stellar-Powered Payments Platform

The company is targeting smaller, independent money transfer operators that lack the resources to compete with giants like Western Union and MoneyGram. Global remittances reached US$600 billion per year, according to the World Bank. The four largest operators—Western Union, UAE Exchange, MoneyGram and RIA—handle 25 percent of that traffic. Thousands of smaller shops split the remaining 75 percent, and many struggle with banking relationships, operational costs, and outdated technology.

ZED Network's platform runs on the ZED token, a cryptocurrency built on Stellar's ledger. Money transfer operators would purchase tokens to power remittance transactions across borders. The arrangement parallels how SWIFT connects banks across borders, except ZED aims to link licensed money transfer operators instead.

Alan Safahi founded ZED Network and also runs the payment platform ZipZap. According to Safahi, the platform and token will "not only benefit small to mid-size MTOs currently ill-served by the traditional banking system and subject to prohibitive licensing and transaction fees, it will also dramatically benefit millions of individuals worldwide, many of whom are unbanked and the worst affected by the current high transaction fees charged by the traditional money transfer operators."

The company plans to start operations in Canada and the Philippines, then expand to the UK, US, Europe, Latin America, Southeast Asia, China, Japan and South Korea by year-end. A pilot version launches in the first quarter of 2018.