These start-ups are tapping into the growing trend of mobile and online banking to try to snatch a slice of the $529bn in remittances that zip around the world each year, according to estimates from the World Bank. In 2011, around $51.6bn was sent in money transfers from US migrants to the rest of the world, according to the US Bureau of Economic Analysis. WorldRemit and TransferWise, as well as CurrencyFair, another European remittances group based in Ireland, have made early inroads into the US, already allowing some customers to send money to and from the country. But the focus of these businesses remains customers who are mainly in Europe.

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