Remitly began operations in Seattle in the year 2011. With more than 2.8 million customers and $20.4 billion in transactions later, the company has become one of the world’s largest and most popular international money transfer companies.
But is Remitly really worth the money? Is the company’s customer service, convenience, and value for money up to par? And most importantly, is it a good fit for you?
There’s a lot to consider when choosing the best money transfer service, and these are all reasonable questions to ask, especially when you look at the options available for currency exchange, conversion, and money transfer. This is why we’ve decided to address these queries in this comprehensive review of everything Remitly.
We’ll go through all of this in greater detail below, but we’d like to start by giving you a comprehensive overview of the firm, its money transfer process, and how well it meets your specific needs.
About Remitly
Based in Seattle, Washington, Remitly is an international money transfer company that allows individuals to send money to family and friends in other countries.
The company started off as a small startup with a mission to make it easier for immigrants to send money home to their families. And over the years, it has evolved into a global platform that now supports money transfers to more than 150 countries worldwide.
As you’ll find in our in-depth review below, Remitly stands out for many factors among its millions of customers worldwide. More than anything else, Remitly stands out for catering its services to immigrants and their families by offering the most secure financial services in the world.
In all its years of existence, Remitly has expanded its core cross-border remittance service to over 2,100 corridors worldwide, and it’s in the process of extending its offering to a broader suite of financial services.
How Does Remitly Work?
Remitly enables money transfers between 22 sending nations and over 150 receiving countries around the world.
Getting started with Remitly is simple and fast, and it only requires a few simple steps before you’ll be able to use the platform to make money transfers.
You first need to check that Remitly supports the country you’re in and the country you intend to send money to. If Remitly supports both countries, you can download their mobile app from the Google Play store or the App store. Alternatively, you can visit Remitly.com if you prefer working on a bigger screen.
Now you can create a free account by simply following the instructions on the screen and collect your recipient’s information, such as their name exactly as it appears on their ID, address, phone number, bank name of their bank, and their bank account number.
Suppose your recipient doesn’t have a bank account in their name. In that case, you can choose among other delivery options such as cash pickup, home delivery, and mobile wallet.
Once you’re done, before proceeding to your first money transfer, you will be prompted to verify your phone number and add a security question to protect your account. You can now start transferring money.
After these first initial steps, you’ll be able to send money anywhere in the world by simply choosing the currency and the amount you want to transfer, the currency you wish the recipient to receive the money on, the recipient’s bank information and whether you’re transferring to a business or a private account.
At this point, you have all the information necessary to proceed with the transfer. Remitly will let you know exactly when your money will be delivered and when the transfer is completed.
Below we have rounded up some more of the Pros and Cons that we have found relevant to the purpose of this review.
Advantages and Disadvantages of Remitly
Remitly has been one of the leading companies in the money transfer and exchange industry for more than a decade. To understand exactly Remitly has become so successful despite new competitors entering the market every year, below we’re going to take a closer look at some of Remitly’s most exciting features as well as the ones that we didn’t find particularly appealing or that have been points of contention for other customers. to understand how it has accomplished this despite new competitors entering the market every year.
Advantages of Remitly
- Low Fees: One of the main reasons people use Remitly is because of its low fees. When compared to other companies that offer similar services, Remitly’s fees are significantly more competitive.
- Fast Transfers: Another significant advantage of using Remitly is that they provide fast transfers. Remitly offers two transfer speeds: Economy (within 3 to 5 business days) and Express (immediately).
- User-Friendly App: Remitly’s app is very user-friendly and easy to navigate. This makes it an excellent option for those who are not particularly tech-savvy or don’t have a lot of time on their hands.
- Flexible Payment Options: Remitly offers its customers a lot of flexibility when making payments. Customers can choose to pay with their credit or debit cards from all sending countries, prepaid cards from all sending countries, bank accounts from the US, Canada, and Australia, Maestro cards from the EU and the UK, Klarna from the Austria and Germany, iDeal from the Netherlands, and Passbook from the US.
- Multiple delivery options: Another great thing about Remitly is that they offer numerous delivery options, so you can choose the one that best suits your needs. Delivery options include bank account deposit, cash pickup, home delivery, and mobile wallet.
- Excellent Customer Service: Remitly’s customer service is excellent. They have a team of highly trained representatives who are always willing to help and resolve any issues customers may have 24/7 via chat in English, French, and Spanish. And 24/7 by phone in English and Spanish.
Disadvantages of Remitly
- Not transfers between sending countries: Currently, Remitly allows money transfers from 22 developed countries to more than 150 countries worldwide. However, Remitly doesn’t allow money transfers among the 22 sending countries.
- Sending limits: Depending on your and your recipient’s location, Remitly limits the amount you’re allowed to send in 24 hours, 30 days and 180 days. You can request a sending limit request to Remitly’s support if your current limit is too low.
Detailed Remitly review
Now that we have examined Remitly’s process, advantages, and disadvantages, in the following section, we’re going to learn more about Remitly’s reputation, how existing customers evaluate its products and features, and how well those products and features fit your particular needs.
Reputation, Track record, and Trust
Remitly has been in business for over 10 years and is a licensed and regulated money transmitter in all 22 sending countries, including the US, Canada, Australia, Europe, the UK, and more than 150 receiving countries worldwide. It is also a member of several international organizations such as the Better Business Bureau (BBB), the International Association for Money Transfer Networks (IAMTN), and the European Union Chamber of Commerce.
Remitly also offers a money-back guarantee that ensures your satisfaction with every transaction. If you are not satisfied with your transfer for any reason, they will refund the total amount of your transaction, no questions asked.
Finally, Remitly enforces a strict identity verification process that includes government-issued ID in terms of security. They also use 256-bit SSL encryption to protect your personal information and transactions at all times.
Value for money
Remitly’s fees vary depending on the sending country, receiving country, transfer amount, delivery method, and the transfer speed you choose your money to be delivered to the recipient.
Remitly offers two transfer speeds, Economy and Express.
Economy transfers will take between 3 and 5 business days and cost you a lower fee.
Express transfers will take just a few minutes and cost you a slightly higher fee.
Generally, both economy and express transfer fees will increase with the send amount. Therefore, higher send amounts equal higher transfer fees.
And lastly, Remitly will charge a margin fee on top of the mid-market rate. The margin fee is their way of making a profit on each transaction.
Ease of use
Remitly’s platform is very easy to use. The sign-up process is straightforward and only requires a few minutes to complete. You can either sign up online or download the Remitly app for iOS or Android.
Once you have signed up and verified your identity, you can start sending money right away. Select your sending country, enter the amount you want to send, choose your delivery method, and select your recipient’s country.
Then, you will need to enter your recipient’s personal information, such as name, address, phone number, and bank details.
You will also need to choose how you would like to pay for your transfer. Remitly accepts bank transfers, debit cards, and credit card payments.
After reviewing and confirming all the details, you can submit your transaction for processing.
Remitly will then send you an email confirmation with all your transaction details. You can also track the status of your transfer online or in the app.
Customer support
Remitly’s customer support is available 24/7 through live chat and phone. Their customer service representatives are very friendly and helpful.
They are also available in multiple languages, including English, Spanish, and French.
Feel free to use any of Remitly’s support service details below to get through to the company.
Remitly Customer Support Details
- Remitly Support (US): (844) 604-0924.
- Remitly Support (all other countries): 1 844-604-0924
Processing time
Remitly’s processing time is very fast. For example, Express transfers are processed in just a few minutes, while economy transfers take 3 to 5 business days.
Remitly also keeps you updated on the status of your transfer every step of the way. You and the recipient will receive an email confirmation as soon as your transaction is processed.
Remitly customer reviews
Their customer reviews are mostly positive, with customers praising their low fees, fast processing times, and excellent customer service.
On the review site Trustpilot, Remitly has received an 82% excellent rating among over 35,000 reviews. An additional 6% of these reviews indicate great service, followed by a 2% that are good, and the remaining 10% rates Remitly poorly.
The negative points their customers brought up mainly were about their high margin fees and the fact that they don’t allow customers to send money between all countries.
Overall, Remitly is an excellent choice for senders looking for a fast, convenient, and affordable way to send money abroad.
Is Remitly right for you?
Choosing the right international money transfer service requires a lot of research and consideration of many factors.
You need to consider the amount you’re transferring, how fast you want the money to be transferred, how important it is for you to get the best exchange rate, etcetera.
We hope that by reading this detailed Remitly review, we could shed some light on all of these factors so you don’t have to.
Remitly FAQs
Below are some of the most frequently asked questions about Remitly.
Is Remitly better than Western Union?
Remitly and Western Union are large, well-established international money transfer services with a good reputation.
What we’ve found is that Remitly tends to be cheaper and faster than Western Union, while Western Union has a more extensive network of physical locations.
What is the Remitly app?
The Remitly app is a mobile application that allows users to send money abroad. The app is available for iOS and Android devices.
What is the cheapest way to send money with Remitly?
The cheapest way to send money with Remitly is through their economy transfer service. This service has a processing time of 3 to 5 business days.
Can Remitly be used for business transfers?
Remitly’s service isn’t specifically designed for business transfers, but they do allow users to send up to $10,000 per transaction.