Remitly secures new investment from Visa; bolsters cross-border money transfer network

By Pavithra R

Remitly, the mobile-first provider of remittances and financial services for immigrants, has announced receiving new funding from Visa, a world leader in digital payments.

The investment showcases the confidence Visa has in the quality and continuity of Remitly’s vision to provide transformative financial services products for immigrants across the globe. Remitly has also announced extending an earlier partnership with Visa, to integrate Visa Direct, Visa’s real-time push payments platform, to help enable Remitly customers in the United States to send funds to eligible Visa debit cards in countries globally. Through this step, Visa and Remitly will continue to work together to further expand cross-border transfer services and provide customers affordable, convenient, and secure money transfer solutions.

“Over the last two years, our partnership with Visa and integration of Visa Direct, has bolstered our cross-border money transfer network and provided our customers with even more options to send and receive money all over the world. After a strong initial collaboration with the world’s leader in digital payments, we’re excited to bring even more payment disbursement innovations to the forefront in the years ahead, and serve our customers with speed, convenience, and optionality,” said Matt Oppenheimer, Remitly Co-Founder and CEO.

Since the start of 2020, Remitly has more than doubled its reach in the number of available receive countries, from 49 to over 100 while also launching send functionality in Singapore. Its mobile wallet network also expanded by more than 100% worldwide. The alliance with Visa Direct helped the firm unlock more choices for its customers to send real-time cross-border payments to eligible Visa debit cards. Customers can also track their transfer to know exactly when and where their money will arrive, underscoring Remitly’s ongoing commitment to ensuring its customers’ peace of mind.

The partnership between Visa and Remitly began in March 2019, providing customers with another fast, secure, and transparent channel to send and receive funds from the U.S to eligible Visa debit cards across borders. Visa also supports Passbook by Remitly.

“Remittances are a lifeline for the 200 million workers around the world3 who rely on this service to quickly and securely move money to their families. By expanding on our collaboration with Remitly through Visa Direct, we look forward to unlocking new corridors and help give people more options to digitally send and receive funds to friends and family around the world,” said Ruben Salazar, SVP and Global Head of Visa Direct, Visa.

Recently, IBS Intelligence listed Remitly in 3 fastest growing FinTech companies in Seattle.