Worldremit Review – A Good Choice For Money Transfer?

What is Worldremit?

Worldremit is a UK based money transfer service, founded in 2010. Its founding was inspired by the difficulties the company’s founder, Ismail Ahmed, faced when trying to send money back to his home country of Somaliland, while he was studying in London.

Worldremit provide a cashless service (although they do provide cash pickup services for the receivers of a transfer), and as such, users have to deposit funds for transfers by bank transfer or card. They have a large network of distribution for the funds throughout the developing world, especially mobile money such as Mpesa in Kenya and Bkash in Bangladesh, and mobile airtime top-up.

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Who is Worldremit for?

Worldremit aim to provide a variety of channels for residents in over 60 different countries, to send funds via a variety of methods to family, friends and loved ones in their home countries. They currently support sending to over 130 countries.

Worldremit is more focused on this side of the currency transfer market, than personal or business currency transfers within a country, so in that sense is quite different from providers such as Wise or XE.

Residents of the below 64 countries are currently able to do transfers via Worldremit:

More details on which countries you can send money from with Worldremit here

Worldremit rates and fees

Worldremit have 2 different elements to their charging structure. Firstly, they will offer a particular transfer rate between your originating and terminating currencies. This will change depending on which currencies are used, and which pickup method is chosen. This cost is not transparent, so below we have given a table that shows some example rates, with a calculation of the cost. This calculation was done on 29 July 2021, and is based on the transfer being sent to a bank account:

They also have a set fee that they will charge on each transfer. These depend on the originating country, the country the transfer is made to, and which funding and pick-up method is used. In addition, the charge will vary based on the amount of the transfer. As an example, below are some examples of fees for various scenarios:

Which currencies can you send with Worldremit?

Customers can currently send to over 130 countries. The country list is below. However, please note that this is the list of all countries that can be sent to via Worldremit. However, which countries you can send to will depend on the origin of the transfer, so you will need to check if you are able to send to a particular country from your country of residence.

How long do Worldremit transfers take?

The time taken for a transfer via Worldremit depends mainly on the delivery method of the funds. Also bear in mind that if you are funding the transfer by a bank transfer, then it will take some time for your bank to send the funds into Worldremit. Worldremit claim the following durations per method:

How Does Worldremit Work?

1. How to create a Worldremit account?

Every customer with Worldremit needs to verify their identity before they can make a transfer. Therefore, when setting up your Worldremit account, it is sensible to have a photo ID to hand, such as a passport, ID card or driving license.

To set up and account, simply log on to their website or download the app. You will then need your email to create an account. Once the account is created, you will need to specify which country you wish to send funds from. You will then need to verify your ID.

Once you have completed all of this, you simply need to add funds for your transfer, and then you are ready to go.

2. What payment methods can I use with Worldremit?

In all originating countries for the transfer, users can fund the transfers by bank transfer and credit/debit cards. There are some other options also, such as Klarna and Applepay. However these depend on which country you are sending from. Worldremit do not offer the option to fund the transfers with cash.

3. How can the funds be received?

Worldremit have focused on providing a wide variety of ways for the receiving party to get the money. These include:

Since their formation in 2010, Worldremit have continued to expand their network, both via relationships with banks, mobile money providers and mobile networks, and with cash pick-up locations. Whilst longer-standing operators such as Western Union may have bigger networks, Worldremit do have a large enough network to serve a large proportion of customers. As an example, at time of writing, they have over 15,000 cash pick locations in the Phillipines alone.

Is Worldremit safe?

Worldremit are headquarted in the United Kingdom, and as such are licensed and regulated by the UK’s Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). They are also fully regulated by the relevant financial supervisory body in each market they operate in. Worldremit have received over $400 million in investment since 2010, and are currently valued at around $1.5 billion. In 2020 they stated that they had transferred over with 50 million payments for customers during the year, totalling more than $10 billion. Potential customers can really be assured by these numbers, that Worldremit are a healthy and reliable company to entrust your hard-earned money with.

Worldremit reviews – what are people saying?

Worldremit have a rating of 4 out of 5 – great – on Trustpilot. 77% of the reviews rate them at 5 out of 5. There are 8% of the reviews which are 1 out of 5 – bad. Of the good reviews, customers praise the ease of use and speed of the transfers, and that there are many places to pick up the funds in their country.

Worldremit – Conclusion

With their focus on providing a wealth of options for people wishing to send funds back to families and loved ones, Worldremit have put together a good value and extensive network. Whilst they have various competitors in this space, customers would definitely benefit from looking at what Worldremit can offer.