WorldRemit vs Remitly
8 Things You Need to Know – Only One Winner!
WorldRemit and Remitly are both big players for international money transfers.
Their strengths include fast transfers at bank beating rates to a large number of countries with a variety of payout methods.
But here’s the thing: WorldRemit and Remitly suit different folks better. The best option for YOU will depend on your specific needs and what they provide.
But wait there’s more 🙂
To help, we award a winner in each of 8 important categories. (See Winner
)
These are not the best options in every situation and we will suggest alternatives where it makes sense!
Let’s get stuck into it.
Disclosure: This post contains affiliate links. For more information, see my disclosures here.
Jump Links
- Who Can Get One?
- Costs and Fees (+ Hidden Fees?)
- Supported Currencies
- Ways to Send Money
- Payout Method
- Transfer Speeds
- Reviews (inc. Negative Ones)
- Customer Service and Support
The Big Differences
At a glance, it may seem like WorldRemit and Remitly offer the same service – fast international money transfers at low cost.
While they offer many of the same services, the big differentiator is the folks they serve.
In a nutshell: Both are leaders when it comes to smaller amounts including bank transfers, mobile wallet transfers and cash pick up. Remitly offers home delivery while WorldRemit offers prepaid mobile top ups. WorldRemit offers slightly better fees and also offers a business option.
Don’t miss: “Where Neither is Best” section below
With WorldRemit in your country you can also get the the first 3 transfers free (using the code ‘3FREE‘).
Meanwhile Remitly has a you can see what you will pay on desktop or get the App for mobile – iOS or Android.
WorldRemit (review) is focused on making international money transfers fast, easy and flexible at bank-beating rates for everyone in the 44 sender countries they support. And, they let you transfer money for both personal and business (offers a dedicated business account) purposes to 150 countries.
Remitly (review) you can send money fast and affordably from the following 16 countries – UK, US, Australia, Canada, Ireland, Germany, France, Italy, Spain, Austria, Belgium, Finland, Netherlands, Norway, Singapore and Sweden to family and friends in 50 countries.
Where Neither is Best
Money transfers above $7000 USD/ 4500 GBP other services tend to be even cheaper and have better important customer service for larger amounts. OFX (review) (Worldwide) and TorFX (review) (Australasia & Europe) reduce the fees in percentage terms as the amounts rise.
To decide between the two: OFX balances online with telephone support while TorFX focuses on telephone service mostly.
WorldRemit Pros | Remitly Pros |
|
|
WorldRemit Cons | Remitly Cons |
|
|
1. Who Can Get One?
WorldRemit | Remitly |
| WorldRemit is available in 44 countries and lets you transfer money to 150 countries worldwide. Both personal and business transfers are possible with WorldRemit. | Remitly allows sending money from 16 developed countries to 50 developing countries across the world. They only support transfers to family members (and in rare cases to friends) to cover personal expenses like utility bills, rent, medical expenses, or travel expenses. Sometimes Remitly may ask you for additional documentation to prove your association or purpose for transferring funds to make sure the transfer is in line with their services. |
Winner: WorldRemit
If you want to send money internationally to cover both personal and business expenses, WorldRemit is the clear winner. They have wide coverage and no limitations on sending money between supported areas.
2. Costs and Fees (+ Hidden Fees)
WorldRemit | Remitly |
| WorldRemit’s fees depends on the currency, how you choose to fund your transfer, transfer amount, and the payout method. WorldRemit charges a flat fee for each transfer as well as a margin on the exchange rate (not the interbank rate and can change with market fluctuations). Their fees range between $3.99 and $24.99 (for USD 1000), depending on the currency and payout method. The good thing is they let you know how much you’ll end up paying in total fees so you can compare before initiating a transfer. Heads up – WorldRemit’s fees go up with the transfer amount and there may be sending limits. | Like WorldRemit, Remitly also charges a flat fee and a margin on the exchange rate (which varies with market fluctuations). Remitly’s fees depend on the country you’re sending from, the transfer amount, selected service (Express or Economy), and the target currency. Express: This is the fastest way to send money to your family because the funds arrive in minutes or at least within a few hours. Express transactions must be funded with a debit or credit card only and are typically more expensive (fees here include Remitly’s fees plus a convenience fee charged by your card provider). Economy: Economy transfers can be funded with a bank transfer and the funds usually arrive in 3-5 days. Economy transfers are ideal if you want to save big on your transfers on large amounts (Remitly waives its flat fee for transfers over USD 1000 in some countries). Ideally, fees are lower if the recipient is receiving the money in a local currency and if you’re sending a large amount. Daily and monthly limits may apply, but you can get in touch with Remitly’s customer support if you want to increase your sending limit. You can also check the fees you’ll pay and the live exchange rate when you go to Remitly’s website and select the source country and the destination country (locking in the exchange is only possible when you register and log in to your account). |
Winner: Tie
Exchange rates offered by both services are higher than the interbank rate. Rest assured when you add the transfer fees and the margin on the exchange rate, the total cost of transfer turns out to be much lower than the fess charged by high street banks.
Here’s something else to consider: WorldRemit charges lower fees on exchange rate margin but the fixed fees go up as the amount increases. Remitly’s fixed fees can be expensive for smaller amounts, so if you have a similar amount that you want to send each time use the links at the bottom (for a discount) and compare.
It can boil down to your needs, the amount you’re transferring, and where you’re located.
Hidden fees
Both WorldRemit and Remitly charge additional fees if the transfer is funded with a credit or debit card. Plus banks at either end can charge processing fees when your remittance is funded by a bank transfer and you’re transferring money to a recipient’s bank account.
Some countries can also levy taxes if you’re sending money to a mobile wallet with WorldRemit or Remitly.
3. Currencies
WorldRemit | Remitly |
| WorldRemit supports international and local transfers in over 100+ currencies to 150 countries across the world. Check the full list of countries you can send money to here. | Remitly supports international transfers in 40+ currencies and lets you send money to 50 countries worldwide. |
Winner: WorldRemit
WorldRemit wins this round by sheer numbers. Also, WorldRemit lets you transfer funds to cover both personal and business expenses.
4. Ways to Send Money
WorldRemit | Remitly |
You can fund your WorldRemit transfer in the following ways:
Before initiating a transfer, check out the pros and cons of each funding method here. | Funding methods vary depending on the country you’re sending from.Remitly supports
|
Winner: Tie
Both WorldRemit and Remitly offer a number of ways to fund your transfers. Funding with a credit or debit card usually ensures lightning-fast transfers with either service. Bank transfers are relatively less expensive and transfers can take a couple of days.
5. Payout Methods
WorldRemit | Remitly |
WorldRemit supports the following payout methods
The payout method also determines the transfer fees. For example, bank transfers are usually cheaper than cash pick ups and mobile wallet transfers. | Payout methods supported by Remitly are:
The payout method usually does not affect the sender’s fees on Remitly. But in some countries, your recipient may have to pay a fee for cashing out money sent to a mobile wallet (for example, PayMaya in the Philippines charges a fee for cashing out). |
Winner: Tie
Both services offer a lot of flexibility for receiving money. But just to be sure, always double check the supported methods in your target destination to avoid hold ups.
6. Transfer Speed
WorldRemit | Remitly |
WorldRemit’s transfer speed depends on three things: how the transfer is funded, the currency, and the payout method.
| Remitly’s transfer speed depends on the following: the service you choose (Economy or Express), how you fund your transfer, and the target currency.
Your recipient can also track the transfer, which minimizes a lot of back and forth. Remitly also notifies you if your transfer is on hold, under review by their partner in the recipient country, or if you’ve made any changes to your recipient’s details. Lastly, Remitly refunds the transfer fees (but not the margin on the exchange rate) if your money doesn’t arrive on time. |
Winner: Remitly
You can send money in minutes with both services, which is awesome.
But with Remitly’s economy plan, you’re likely to save big on large transfers (zero fees for over USD 1000 in some countries) whereas WorldRemits fees increase with the transfer amount. Plus, Remitly’s 100% satisfaction guarantee and active tracking feature make transfers hassle free.
7. Reviews (incl. Negative Reviews)
WorldRemit | Remitly |
| WorldRemit is rated 4.6/on on Trustpilot with over 25,000 reviews. 82% of their users had an “excellent” experience and 11% had a “good” experience with WorldRemit. Most people loved the quick transfers and their easy sign up process. But that’s not the whole story. We were determined to dig deep into the issues faced by the 4% of users who had a “bad” experience. Their top concerns were money transfer delays, account suspensions, and poor customer service. Transfer delays and account suspensions can be avoided by going through their FAQs section and terms of service. But like most digital-only money transfer services, customer service is definitely an area of improvement for WorldRemit. Check out our full review of WorldRemit here. | Remitly is rated 4.7/5 on Trustpilot with over 20000 reviews.Remitly users love the fast service, inexpensive rates, and the transparent tracking feature. Overall, 86% of their users had an “Excellent” experience and 6% had a “Good” experience. But 5% of users had a “bad” experience because they faced account lock downs, transfer delays, and were asked to provide additional documents. Some of them were also dissatisfied with Remitly’s customer service. You can avoid account lock downs and delays by getting clear on Remitly’s scope of service, but Remitly needs to improve how they respond to customer requests during emergencies. Check out our full review of Remitly here. |
Winner: Tie
One-off incidents aside, WorldRemit and Remitly are both excellent service providers.
As registered and licensed providers, WorldRemit and Remitly (as well as their partners such as local banks) need to audit transfers regularly to ensure compliance.
This is common practice in the industry to keep illegal activities in check. Also, we’re confident that after going through this article, you can easily steer clear of potential pitfalls.
8. Customer Service and Support
WorldRemit | Remitly |
| WorldRemit has country-specific phone numbers if you need human help with a transfer. If your issue is not urgent, you can email their customer service, who generally respond within 48 hours. While WorldRemit doesn’t have a live chat, you can head over to their extensive FAQs section for clarifications. | Remitly has live chat, phone support, and email support. They also have a comprehensive help section with wholesome information about all aspects of their service. |
Winner: Tie
Both WorldRemit and Remitly have robust Help sections so that their users can have a seamless money transfer experience. However, it would appear their customer service could be more supportive and transparent during distress calls.
Verdict
WorldRemit!
With 2 wins for WorldRemit, 1 for Remitly, and 5 ties, you can be sure that both services will match and (or even exceed) your expectations.
Remitly offers fast and cheap money transfers to immigrants in the 16 developed countries they service. By niching down and limiting their scope to personal transfers only, they’re attracting more people who identify with their vision, which is a great way to stand out in a saturated space.
You can see what you will pay (desktop) or get the App for mobile – iOS or Android.
WorldRemit, on the other hand, stands out by supporting international and local transfers in 100+ currencies to 150 countries around the world. They also offer dedicated business accounts, which compounds the scope of their service.
WorldRemit is also usually a slightly cheaper option, but both are excellent options for against banks and the older often much more expensive options like Western Union and Moneygram.
If WorldRemit is your best choice, you can reduce costs by using this and ‘3FREE‘.
But of course, which one is best for you ultimately depends on your needs and other important considerations like your location, target currency, and transfer amount.
Happy Transfers!