My first column in Bloomberg Opinion
If you’ve ever spent significant time abroad, or tried supporting family overseas, you know that the process of sending money internationally can be stressful. It costs time and money — often too much of both. There’s hope that global crypto currencies will make this process easier, but until those become more accepted, you’ll have to find other ways to save.
I remember returning to New Delhi after a semester at Yale University in Connecticut some years back and trying to move what I had in U.S. dollars to my bank account in India. The process of remitting these savings was so clunky – involving applications in banks in both countries — that I just used my U.S. debit card until the account ran dry. I’m sure I paid a bunch of fees and got short-changed on currency conversion costs, but I found it easier to spend this money rather than spending time trying to find a cheaper way.