In the digital economy, it all comes down to data that can be sent or received over the Internet: text, videos, movies, music, messages, ecommerce items, or the drawings of an object for 3D printing, to cite some examples.No one doubts that money "4.0" will mark a revolution similar to that produced by the Internet more than 20 years ago. In particular, in relation to the movement of funds through the web linked to the purchase of products or the payment of professional fees, among other concepts.So much so that Visa and Mastercard has been fighting an arduous battle to lead cross-border payments in a digital world that, precisely, declines from the borders: if it doesn't matter to send an email to anywhere in the world, the same thing will happen with the money.In this context, both cards were beaten in a millionaire bid that - over US $ 320 million - to become the British firm Earthport, specializing in transfers between different countries: although it won Visa, that victory only served to shorten distances from to its competitor, which is the one that has been leading in this field.In figures, Mastercard cross-border payments grew 16% in the second quarter, against 7% of its competitor. Its profits reached US $ 4.1 billion ( 12%) in that period.As for the local level, a large number of fintech that provide this service aim to become strong in a market that - measured in dollars - has been growing strongly in Argentina, according to World Bank measurements. To the point that they mobilized about $ 450 million in 2018.Today, several offer transfers in Argentina aimed at sending money to family members as well as the collection of freelance jobs abroad. The common denominator: the process is simpler, faster and cheaper than in the case of banks.Cheap and touchThe "traditional" model of international transfers is losing ground. These operations are, for the most part, processed by the classical method implemented by the Society for Global Interbank Financial Telecommunication (SWIFT), an NGO based in Belgium that began operating in 1973.But these movements of funds have a couple of problems, not minor: they can take several days and are subject to high fees (7% on average). In addition, they are basically intended for large transactions.As indicated by iProUP Maximiliano Babino, general manager of Western Union Argentina (WU), the new services are more agile because in the traditional method "a bank charges a fixed charge of up to 50 dollars, while with the app the commission is cheaper at 1.8% of the total amount. ""In addition, in the conventional scheme it can take a week. Silver is not in anyone's account. That creates uncertainty," adds the executive, who emphasizes, instead, transfers "4.0" have the great advantage that they are made In the instant. In the case of the signature, it indicates that there are two channels for sending money:- Physical: through the 4,500 stores (kiosks, Carrefour Express, Correo Argentino) that are in the Western Union / Pago Fácil network. The money is delivered to the cashier and arrives at another branch in the world or is deposited in a bank account- Digital: through an app, where the amount is preloaded from a bank account and sent to a local or a recipient's bank accountGlobally, several fintech were popularized offering the possibility of making low-cost transfers. Some are arriving in the country while others already have local partners. One of these partners is the Cobro Express payment network, through its Transfery brand."We created a company registered as a remitter with the Fiscal Information Unit (FIU) for the national and international shipping business. We take advantage of our payment network and sign global partnerships with fintech such as MoneyGram, TransferTo, Xoom and Ria," says Ignacio iProUP Picatto, commercial manager of Cobro Express.In this way, the almost 3,000 agencies of the company work for sending (or receiving) money, whose commissions are set by the companies themselves and deducted directly from the amount the recipient receives, namely:- Xoom: between 2.5% and 3%- Monegram: 5% to send, 10% to receive- Ria: 3 euros (reception only, up to € 750)Freelancer FriendsOne of the most recognized digital players globally is PayPal, used by freelancers around the world to receive payments for their work presented to companies abroad.However, it is not possible for funds to be easily credited to a local account. To replace this, two years ago, the Argentine fintech Nubi emerged, which already has 160,000 users and carries out 8,000 monthly transactions."The only requirements are to have a Nubi account, another one in PayPal and a third one in any bank in the country, all three in the name of the same person, and associate that CBU," Sebastian Bottcher, general manager of the company, tells iProUP.The firm is working on reducing accreditation time. The funds can be in pesos or dollars, depending on the currency in which the user's bank account is nominated.For withdrawals of up to $ 2,000, the company charges 0.5% of the total or $ 10 (the highest value). Passing that cap, up to $ 10,000, the rate is 0.5%.In the case of PayPal, it has its own rates for the payment of money to people in the US. (2.9%) or the rest of the world (5.4%). It is the most used option for freelancers and the "employer" is the one who usually absorbs these charges.The good timing of fintech is encouraging the arrival of great international players to Argentina, such as the British TransferWise, which has been operating in the country for two years. Globally, its business is made up of 70% by remittance users and 30% by freelance professionals."We always show transparently what the commissions will be and our exchange rate is the market average. This sets us apart from our competitors," Diana Avila, leader of operations at TransferWise for Latin America, tells iProUP.According to the directive, "almost 70% of transfers are made on the day", for which they work "with local partners to follow the funds from beginning to end".Argentina is part of the 71 markets in which funds can be received from TransferWise with an average commission of 1.5%; and will soon join the 43 countries enabled for shipping. In addition, at the local level they plan to launch a Mastercard debit card to use the funds received.This functionality is now available in the country with Plex, a virtual wallet that allows you to use the PayPal balance and charges $ 4 plus VAT to make withdrawals. It is also possible to make transfers directly between Plex users but only to users in Uruguay subject to a fixed charge of US $ 0.99 VAT.This has just beganLocal market sources affirm that transnational payments will grow at an exponential rate in Argentina over the next few years, as long as "openness" to the world is maintained and exchange controls do not occur after October."In an increasingly globalized world of freelancer, these options will continue to grow," Javier Buitrago, VP & Head of Latam of Thunes, tells iProUP, a firm that offers transfers to fintech companies to provide this service. "We promote this category that will grow 100% in the next three years," he says enthusiastically.In this regard, the World Bank estimated that remittances to low- or middle-income countries climbed to $ 529,000 million in 2018. Thus, these nations accounted for three out of every four dollars of the nearly $ 700 billion of shipments of small amounts made last year."The Argentine market is around US $ 1.5 billion a year, between shipping and receiving," says Picatto, of Cobro Express, who adds that it is a country that is more "sending than receiving" and that the amounts transacted range from 300 to 500 dollars.According to their estimates, the ranking of countries to which capital is turned are Bolivia, Peru, Paraguay and some Central American nations. However, Senegal grew strongly as a remittance destination due to the strong African immigration wave of recent years.However, Babino, of Western Union, points out that the trend changed in May, when Argentina became more of a "receiver." According to their projections, the United States, Spain, Mexico, Italy and Chile are among the nations that send the most money."After the great devaluations and the passage of the dollar of $ 20 to $ 45, more money enters than it leaves. The purchasing power of the immigrants lowered by unemployment, inflation and saving capacity, as in 2002", completes.In the case of your company, only 10% corresponds to freelancers. The company is the "official" means of payment of Google or Amazon, which pays Argentine professionals who use their advertising systems or sell online services.Buitrago adds that the boom in the sector will also be due to strong growth of the fintech ecosystem, both locally and internationally. "Here we are in full revolution, but we had a 20-year delay," he says.For the executive, we are just witnessing 1% of the possibilities offered by fintech and ensures that the bank should not worry, because the cake is being enlarged: "At the end of the day, the fintech silver sleeps in the banks."Money, quickly, is becoming data, which can travel through the network as if it were an email, with equal speed, comfort and low cost. The Internet is shaping the world again from its most innovative role: the exchange of value within the digital economy.