Remitly, a Seattle company that takes a mobile-first, customer-centric approach to money transfers, is expanding its service to the United Kingdom.
Beginning today, people in the U.K. will be able to send money to friends and family in the Philippines and India using the Remitly app. This is Remitly’s first expansion into Europe.
“Europe is the second largest remittance market in the world. Launching in the U.K., where over £19 billion — $24 billion USD — in remittances are sent to other countries, is an important next step as we transform the global remittance business,” said Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer.
Both Remitly’s expedited money transfer service and its more budget-friendly option are now available for people sending cash out of the U.K. The company plans to add more receiving countries (beyond the Philipines and India) for the U.K. corridor soon.
Remitly started planning the expansion before the U.K. voted to leave the European Union. Oppenheimer says it’s too soon to tell what Brexit will mean for the country’s economy but that the company is watching the developments closely.
“We’re keeping a close eye on it but remain committed to the U.K.,” he said. “In Europe, you can get passported with a money transmitter license to operate from just one European country … and it covers the rest of the countries in the European Union. This is very unlikely to change even through the Brexit transition.”
This is Remitly’s first big expansion since raising a $38 million in funding and adding seven more Latin American receiving countries to its platform in late 2016.
“We’re excited to be in the U.K. to help customers who have fallen victim to a very broken antiquated industry, where billions in remittance fees have been pocketed by traditional remittance companies,” Oppenheimer said. “We look forward to putting that money back into the pockets of consumers.”
The 300-person company processes more than $2 billion in transactions per year. It operates a network of more than 30,000 cash pick-up locations worldwide.
