Initial Development of Electronic Money Transfers (EFTs)

The initial development of Electronic Money Transfers (EFTs) in the late 80s with the use of Telex, got a major boost with the introduction of the Fax and the downfall of Money Orders, as we saw in Episode 9. In the US there was a rapid rise of ethnic remittance companies obtaining money transmitter's licenses in states such as California, New York, Texas, and Florida and expanding their agent networks competing with Western Union and MoneyGram. In Europe the development was similar as the euro took hold and licensing of Payment Institutions was developed. A corresponding network of remittance paying companies in Latin America also developed.