Remitly today announced a major expansion, expanding its mobile remittance service to 40 countries across the world.
That’s up from 26 countries previously and is a sign of Remitly’s continued growth, most recently fueled by a giant $115 million investment round last year, one of the largest for any Seattle startup in recent years. Since then, Remitly has nearly doubled its workforce, which is now almost 800 employees, with 200 people at its Seattle headquarters.
Remitly describes itself as the largest independent mobile remittance company in North America, allowing people to send money from one country to another. It now serves 600 send-to-receive corridors.
Remitly’s technology helps eliminate the need for forms, codes, agents, and other fees typically associated with the international money transfer process. The company allows free transfers if the sender can wait three days for the funds to arrive; it charges a $3.99 flat rate for same-day transfers and credit card transfers include an additional 3 percent fee.
Customers send more than $6 billion each year with Remitly — that’s up from $4 billion last year, and $1.5 billion the year prior — which also works with a global network of more than 40,000 bank and cash payout partners. It has helped more than 1 million customers to date.
“Our global growth speaks both to the incredible demand for a better way to transfer money internationally, and the trust more and more customers are placing in us every day to help them and their loved ones,” Remitly CEO and co-founder Matt Oppenheimer said in a statement.
Remitly, ranked No. 6 on the GeekWire 200 list of top Pacific Northwest startups, recently added new services such as home delivery and support for mobile wallets.
Oppenheimer co-founded the company in 2011 with Josh Hug. The company graduated from Techstars Seattle in 2012. Remitly has satellite offices in London, the Philippines, and Nicaragua.
Total funding is $175 million to date. Remitly’s investors include Naspers’ PayU; World Bank’s International Finance Corporation; Silicon Valley Bank; Stripes Group; DN Capital; QED Investors; Tomorrow Ventures; Trilogy Equity Partners; Bezos Expeditions; Founders’ Co-op; and DFJ.
