So I'm going to talk about this little issue that we are in. And when I say we, I mean mom-and-pop money transfer operators, money transfer companies, small and medium money transfer operators, or remittance service providers.
You will see that many of them are feeling intimidated. They're feeling inundated with everything that is going on around them.
They look at TikTok. They look at Twitter. They look at Instagram, Facebook, social media, and the news, and they see all these technology companies entering the financial services space, competing with them, doing millions and billions of dollars in transfers per month, and doing it all for a fraction of the fee or a fraction of the price.
All of this makes them think:
"Oh my God, are the walls closing in? Are we sinking into oblivion? Will we go out of business?"
It seems like obsolescence is going to get the best of them.
But I want to tell you that there is hope.
You will see a lot about companies offering global settlement, global payment rails, stablecoins this and stablecoins that, crypto this and crypto that, blockchain, decentralized finance, credit, lending, cards, accounts, and so many other things.
On-ramps, off-ramps, instant settlements, and everything else can make you think:
"Oh my God, can I even compete?"
The blunt answer is: as is, you cannot.
You cannot.
You will eventually be driven out of business if you continue doing exactly what you are doing today.
But the hopeful answer is this: not only can you compete, you can become a participant.
It Is Not Going to Happen Overnight
So how is that going to happen?
It's not going to happen overnight. That's the first thing you've got to understand.
It's going to take some doing, and that doing may take a couple of months. But it's not like you're going to miss the boat.
Think of it as a ferry service.
If you miss the ferry today, you can always take one tomorrow. You can always take one the day after.
Sure, you may not be the first one across the bay, but you will cross the bay eventually.
So time is on your side, but there has to be a time limit defined around it.
Let's say you tell yourself:
"Okay, in the next six months, I'm going to change the trajectory of my business."
That's a good, solid approach.
You really can change the trajectory of your business in six months.
But how do you do it?
First: Admit That You Are a Student Again
Imagine you take a foreigner and place them in the middle of Paris, Prague, or Copenhagen.
Don't give them a map. Don't give them a translator. Don't give them a phone.
They don't know the language. They don't know anything.
Do you think they can navigate the city?
They can't.
Do you think they can navigate and live easily?
They can't.
Why?
Because they don't understand the nomenclature. They don't understand the lingua franca. They don't have a sense of direction.
They don't know where to go, how to ask for water, where the bathroom is, where food is, where shelter is, where they can sleep, where the groceries are, where the toiletries are, et cetera and so forth.
And when you can't do those things in a modern society, it becomes very difficult to function.
The same thing applies to you.
Right now, you are a stranger in a digital land.
You may have some inkling about what a stop sign looks like, what a restaurant sign looks like, or what a toilet sign looks like. You recognize certain things.
But you have limited mobility.
So the first thing is to understand that you are now going to turn yourself into a student.
Not a dominating CEO, COO, founder, president, or whatever your role may be.
A student.
Learn From the Younger Generation
Look around you.
Your brother. Your sister. Your children. Your nieces. Your nephews. Your colleagues' children. Someone in your office. Someone in your family.
Find someone from your generation or, preferably, a younger generation who can educate you.
The younger generation possesses a lot of this knowledge.
They understand what blockchain is. They understand what stablecoins are. They understand digital wallets, APIs, apps, online platforms, AI, and many of the things that are reshaping financial services.
Go to them.
Learn from them.
Ask them to teach you.
You would be surprised how thrilled they may be to explain these things to you.
Remember when we were young and we looked at our parents and thought:
"Okay, my mom and my pop are old. They're old-style. They don't understand this."
That's exactly the way the younger generation may sometimes look at you.
But it doesn't have to remain that way.
You can talk to them. You can learn from them.
And the generation gap does not mean you have to be in your mid-60s for this equation to become true. You can be in your 40s and still be completely out of touch with what is happening.
So reach out to the younger generation.
They could literally be in their 20s and be able to teach you things in ways that will surprise you.
It is super, super important that you have someone in your immediate circle who can explain these things to you.
Second: Learn Online - But Don't Start Buying Things
The second thing I'm going to tell you is to go online.
Go to YouTube. Go to TikTok. Go to Instagram.
There are thousands of people who have taken their time to teach and explain concepts.
If you see a course being sold, a product being pushed, or a service being aggressively marketed, avoid it for the moment.
Your goal right now is to become a student.
Your goal is not to start buying things.
Anything other than knowledge, you are not paying for.
Right now, you are simply accumulating knowledge.
Look around and you will find many, many competent people explaining extremely complex subjects in very simple terms.
Use them.
Learn the terminology.
Learn how stablecoins work.
Learn how APIs work.
Learn what wallets are.
Learn about digital settlement, on-ramps, off-ramps, liquidity, correspondent banking, virtual accounts, embedded finance, banking-as-a-service, payment-as-a-service, compliance technology, digital identity, transaction monitoring, AI, and whatever else is relevant to your business.
You don't need to become an engineer.
You need to understand the language.
Third: Learn How to Use AI Properly
The third thing you're going to do — and this is probably the most important one — is learn how to use AI.
You may already say:
"Oh, I use AI."
Maybe you do. Maybe you don't.
But now you're going to learn to use AI in a way that can actually change your life and your business.
And the method is simple:
Talk to it.
Don't just type.
Talk.
Initiate voice mode, chat mode, or whatever voice interface the AI system offers, and start explaining yourself.
If you don't know how to explain yourself properly, take your phone and record a long voice note.
Then give that information to the AI and essentially say:
"This is me."
Tell it about yourself.
Tell it who you are.
Tell it about your education, your growth, your company, where you work, and which geography you're operating in.
Tell it what you're experiencing.
Tell it about your customers.
Tell it how much money your business makes.
Tell it what your problems are.
Tell it how you take payments.
Explain how one of your transactions works from beginning to end.
Tell it which countries you're sending money to and which countries you're receiving money from.
Tell it how many customers are coming every day.
Tell it how many customers you're losing and how many you're gaining.
Tell it how you're doing marketing.
Tell it how you're doing sales.
Tell it how you handle customer support.
Tell it what kind of technology system you have — or lack.
Tell it what sort of security you have.
Tell it what sort of AML, compliance, and risk programs you have.
Tell it who your banking partners are.
Tell it what your payment rails are.
Tell it what your banking rails are.
Tell it whether you deal with crypto or don't deal with crypto.
Tell it how well-versed you are in these subjects.
Tell it the top five threats that you see.
Tell it the top five opportunities you see.
Tell it which markets you've been looking at.
And, more importantly, tell it what your dreams and hopes are for your business.
Do tell it.
Record all of this and give it to ChatGPT, Claude, Grok, or whichever AI system you prefer.
Because you would be surprised — and I mean really surprised — at what can happen once the system has enough context about you and your business.
Give Yourself Six Months
Once you've explained all of this, have a conversation with the AI.
Tell it:
"I have six months to change the trajectory of my company, my business, my small business, my medium business, or even my single-shop business."
Then make the commitment.
Maybe you're going to spend one hour per day.
Maybe 30 minutes.
Maybe 45 minutes.
Maybe two hours per day.
Whatever you can commit to consistently.
Then tell the AI:
"For the next six months, teach me everything I need to know in order to change the trajectory of this business: learning, implementation, planning, feedback, everything."
And I can tell you this: after six months, you may be almost unrecognizable compared with where you started.
Think about going to the gym.
Six months of workouts, one hour every day.
Think about the effect that has on a person.
It's difficult to even describe.
The same thing can happen intellectually and professionally when you consistently learn, implement, ask questions, receive feedback, correct mistakes, and continue moving forward.
It can be that much of a game changer.
You Don't Have to Remain in the Analog Economy
Right now, you may look at this digital realm, this digital marketplace, and this digital economy while feeling that you are stuck in the analog economy.
And you may ask:
"How can I possibly become part of it?"
Not only can you become part of it, you can become an enabler.
You can become a player.
You can participate.
You too can offer new things.
Do not underestimate the market you're already in.
And do not underestimate the knowledge of the business that you already possess.
You may have been moving money for 10 years, 20 years, or 30 years.
That knowledge has value.
The technology companies may understand technology better than you do.
But many of them do not understand your customers, your corridors, your communities, your cash flows, your cultural nuances, your regulators, your banking relationships, your compliance challenges, or the realities of moving money in the markets where you operate.
That is your advantage.
Now you need to combine that advantage with new knowledge.
By discovering more and connecting with more entities and institutions, you will be able to develop a wider client base and a wider product and services base.
You will be able to connect to markets, products, services, infrastructure, banking partners, payment rails, and technologies that you simply could not have fathomed six months earlier.
That is the kind of power this transformation can have.
And it all starts with the will to change.
The Investment You Make Today Pays Tomorrow
If you are a struggling money services business, a small or medium money transfer operator, or a remittance service provider and you would like guidance, get in touch with me.
We offer three-month, six-month, and even 12-month consulting programs designed to help money transfer companies improve and modernize their businesses.
We work with you through the process of understanding where your business is today, where the market is moving, what opportunities may be available, what you need to learn, what needs to change, and how you can begin implementing those changes.
Remember:
It is the investment you make today that pays for the results tomorrow.
You cannot simply say:
"You know what? I'm going to do this, and everything is going to be fine and hunky-dory tomorrow."
It just doesn't happen that way.
It doesn't.
You have to invest today.
You have to invest over the next several months.
And then the results start appearing.
Those results can be game-changing.
If this is something you would like to explore, get in touch with us and set up a free 15-minute discovery call.
I'd be happy to get on the phone with you, understand where your business stands today, and see how we may be able to help.