Remitly vs World Remit

Background

It can be difficult to decide which remittance company to use when it comes to sending money online or internationally. In this article, we’ll be comparing two well-known companies in the industry - Remitly and WorldRemit.

A Remitly Overview

Remitly is an American online money transfer service. The company allows users in Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Australia, and the Eurozone to send money to more than forty countries internationally. Because of their online and mobile platform, their service is efficient, faster, and cheaper than competitors. The company allows users to send money using their smartphone, tablet, or online through the Remitly website.

A WorldRemit Overview

WorldRemit is one of the leaders in the online money transfer industry. Being founded in 2009 in the UK, this company has expanded to allow customers in over 50 countries to transfer money to more than 150 countries. Serving more than 4 million customers annually, the company even authorizes nearly 90% of its transfers within minutes.

Remitly’s Payment Methods

With Remitly, users can fund the transfer using:

The daily limit that users can send per day is $999 CAD. This limit can be waived if the customer decides to provide additional information to Remitly, such as the reason for the transfer or proof of how the transfer is being funded.

Remitly does not allow recurring transactions to be set up.

The recipient of the transfer can get the money through a deposit into a bank account, deposit into a digital wallet, or picking up cash at a nearby partner money transfer facility. If a transfer is urgent, customers can choose the “Express” option for an instant transfer of funds.

WorldRemit’s Payment Methods

One of the great things about WorldRemit is that it has many paying and receiving methods. This allows customers to select which method is most convenient for them. The payment methods available may vary depending on the money’s destination country. Some payment options include:

Although daily limits are not listed on their website, users can still expect them. This limit depends on the country where the customer is sending money. Some countries have higher daily limits on money transfers than others.

Recipients can receive their funds in a variety of ways, including:

Fees

Remitly Fees

The fees Remitly charges to transfer money depend on several different factors. First of all, the fees will depend on:

Other fees are dependant on the way the money is being sent, and how the customer is funding the transaction. Remitly users can send money their money either through an Economy or Express option. The economy option often has lower fees (including no fees for your first transfer) and better rates. The catch is that it takes three to five business days for transfers to send. With the economy option, some countries may not have a fee at all, but others may still have a fee of (usually) $2.99 CAD.

In the case that the transfer is funded with a credit card, customers in Canada, Australia, and the United States will also be given a processing fee. Additional fees may also be charged directly by the user’s credit card company, but this is not Remitly’s decision - these fees are dependent on your bank’s policy.

Other situations in which Remitly will charge you additional fees may include sending money to an international recipient, but they receive the money in a different currency.

Express transfers have lower exchange rates and fees, but they happen almost immediately. This option is best for those who need their money to reach its destination in short periods of time. This fee starts from $3.99 CAD and only goes up depending on the country you are sending money to.

WorldRemit’s fees

Similar to its competitors, transfer fees depend on a few factors, including:

Normally, the faster the service, the higher the fee.

With this being said, WorlRemit’s fees are overall often lower compared to those of competitors. They are also transparent with their fees by showing exactly how much a customer needs to pay from the initiation of the transfer.

Bank or credit card fees may also be charged by the customer’s bank, but these fees are not within WorldRemit’s control - they would be from the customer’s financial institution.

Exchange Rates

Remitly’s rates

Remitly’s exchange rates often match up with other online money transfer services. Their rates may depennd on the type of transfer the customer wishes to proceed with (economy or express). Remitly’s rates typically come in between 0.5% and 2% worse than general market rates. The slightly lower rates and fees are how the company makes a profit with their services.

WorldRemit’s rates

WorldRemit’s rates are competitive with mid-market rates, meaning that they charge less markup on their rates. This factor along with their guaranteed exchange rate policies when sending money to another country will overall help customers pay less.

Rates are locked in when a transfer is initiated, and they are updated daily. This gives users the assurance that the amount that is quoted is how much the recipient will receive - regardless if the transfer takes a few days and rates change.

Security

Remitly’s security

Remitly has been proving trustworthy online money transfer services for years. The company is legally licensed to be a money transmitter and is a registered Money Services Business with the United States Department of the Treasury. Remitly is also allowed to operate in and province in Canada, as well as the United Kingdom and Ireland.

Remitly takes great precautions and has excellent security measures to protect customer information and money. These actions include but are not limited to: verifying accounts, requiring customers to prove their identity with proper documents, using manual and automated fraud detection techniques, and ensuring that all transactions are protected by strong online security measures, including 256-bit SSL encryption with a 2048-bit signature.

The company is well-known and used by millions of customers each year. Their popularity and financial strength have allowed Remitly to attract well-known investors throughout the globe - including TomorrowVentures, Jeff Bezos, Trilogy Equity Partnership, QED, and DJF.

WorldRemit’s security

Servicing over 4 million customers around the world, WorldRemit is very secure and reliable.

WorldRemit is licenced to operate and regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority in the United Kingdom. This organization imposes strict regulations on companies to protect customers from fraud and to protect individuals’ funds. WorldRemit is also regulated in the United States, Australia, and Canada.

Ease of use

Both Remitly and WorldRemit are entirely online. This allows for customers to send money from anywhere in the world and anytime during the day - as long as they have a connection to the internet. Transfers can be done with both companies in around 5 steps!

Conclusion

Overall, Remitly and Transferwise are both fairly similar, but WorldRemit may give customers slightly better rates and lower fees. They each have their fair share of pros and cons. Regardless of the decision that a customer decides to make, both options are safe and reliable. Customers should also consider other options when it comes to sending money internationally, such as:

Banks

Banks are reliable and efficient. Although, this option may not be the most convenient for travellers due to the way that customers have to use a specific bank branch to send and receive money. Banks also usually charge higher fees than other online money transfers companies. This may significantly increase the cost of a transfer.

Traditional Money Transfer Services

Specialized agencies are often able to help customers transfer money at a lower cost - through better rates and lower fees. These methods are usually more affordable and convenient for customers.

This option is used all the time because many of these companies have restrictions regarding how customers can send and receive money and the amount that can be transferred. They may also charge additional fees for transfers, thus driving up the price.

Other Online Money Transfer Services

Online money transfer services are more convenient and efficient since customers can send money without leaving their homes. Using the internet to send money has opened the industry to a wider group of consumers. They also usually offer a wider range of payment and delivery methods with more flexibility.

Since online services often do not offer traditional storefronts, they also do not have a high overhead in comparison to other financial institutions. This helps customers because lower expenses and operating costs mean that these companies are able to charge lower fees and offer better rates for customers - making this option the most affordable for customers around the world. While larger companies such as Western Union and PayPal may not be the cheapest option, there are many start-ups and remittance services that are safe, secure, and cost less.