Remitly vs InstaReM

What Remitly offers

Remitly provides overseas money transfer services to:

• Foreign Bank Accounts
• Cash pick up locations
• Mobile Money solutions (not available in all countries)

Remitly also offers a regular transfer service for people who need to do repeated international money transfers for the same amount each time. For example, monthly pensions.

Remitly does not offer

• Personal account management
• Travel debit cards
• Digital wallet services

Sending limits apply to customers for international money transfers.

InstaReM provides reliable international money transfers services for personal customers from several countries.

What InstaReM does

• International money transfers.
• Cash pick-up in the Philippines.
• Multi-currency travel cards.

What InstaReM doesn’t do

• Regular transfers.
• Digital wallets.
• Personal account managers.
• Hedging tools.
• Cash pick-up, other than the Philippines.

Remitly does not offer services for businesses. Their service is specialised and tailored for personal use.

Small and mid-sized businesses may benefit by using InstaReM's services.

What InstaReM business account offers

• Company-branded travel cards.
• Multi-currency accounts.
• Batch payments.
• Higher send limits than personal accounts.

What InstaReM business account doesn’t offer

• Hedging tools.
• Digital wallets.
• Accounting integration.
• Online seller solutions.
• Business specialists.

Remitly fees are hidden within the exchange rate plus an additional fee on top. The fees on the exchange rate can be up to 2% of the transfer amount.

Additional fees apply for the transfer of funds. These can be simple for some countries and complex tiered fees for other countries. 

Economy Transfer Fee - Up to US$3.99

Express Transfer Fee - Between US$4.99 and US$99.99 for larger transfer amounts when receiving in USD.

InstaReM fees

The transfer fee you need to pay depends on the currencies being traded, the transfer amount and the mode of payment.

• Transfer fees increase in direct proportion to increases in transfer amounts.
• Debit card payments come with higher fees than bank account transfers.

InstaReM exchange rates

InstaReM uses Reuter market rates to process transfers and adds an FX margin that is typically below 1%. This essentially depends on the currencies being traded.

Registration - Remitly has a smooth account creation process. The website and mobile app are easy to use.

ID Verification - ID verification is not required for Tier 1 membership but this lowers the account sending limits. Tier 2 and 3 require increased proof of identification and source of funds. This can be a slower process. 

Transfer speed - Generally between 2 - 3 days upon payment.

Low minimum transfer limits - Send under $5

Low maximum transfer limits - Transfer limits are tiered based on your ID verification. Even with tier 3 ID verification. 

Low maximum sending limits - After full ID verification, you may only send up to $60,000 within 180 days. That’s low!

What InstaReM does well

Signing up

Create a new account easily by using the InstaReM app or website.

Payment options

• Bank account transfers from all countries.
• ACH Pull payments from the USA.
• Debit card payments from the European Union and the UK.
• POLi payments from Australia.
• FPX payments from Malaysia.

Mobile app

Available for iOS and Android.
 

Where InstaReM could improve

Speed - Some InstaReM reviews on Trustpilot suggest that transfers can take longer than the stipulated 1 - 2 business days.

Limits - Minimum transfer limits vary based on the sender's location. Maximum transfer limits vary depending on where the sender and recipient live. 

Phone transfers - You can not carry out transfers over the phone as a personal customer.

Destination countries - Remitly specialises in sending to South American, Asian and African countries. Sending to more popular countries like the UK, USA and Canada is not supported.

Language support - Remilty supports 11 languages. They have local settlement accounts for sending funds to Remitly freely and easily in Singapore, Australia, Europe, UK and the USA.

Customer service - Customer support can be contacted by their website’s online chat service. Phone support is also available but only in English and Spanish between 3:00 a.m. to 7:00 p.m. PT.

What InstaReM does well

Supported destination countries - InstaReM lets you send money to a number of countries across North America, Europe, Asia and Oceania. However, the list of supported destination countries might vary based on the sender's location.
 

Where InstaReM could improve

Supported registration countries - InstaReM currently accepts customers from the US, Canada, the UK, Euro Zone countries, Australia, Hong Kong, India, Malaysia and Singapore.

Transparency - Remitly’s transparency on fees is quite poor. They show the real exchange rate below their money transfer widget but the ‘received amount’ in the widget does not use that rate. Remitly uses the real exchange rate plus approximately 2%.

The additional fees for sending to a country can be found clearly within the help center. However, it is not shown to the customer going through the money transfer process until after a few steps.

Remitly & TrustPilot - Remilty’s lack of transparency on fees can be quite confusing which is reflected in many poor reviews on TrustPilot. Many poor Remitly reviews are about transparency on fees and sudden account closures or funds not arriving at their destination. 

What InstaReM does well

Regulated - InstaReM Pte. Ltd. (now known as NIUM Pte. Ltd.) is licensed by regulatory bodies of different countries.

Safety of funds - Uses segregated bank accounts to hold client money.

Trustpilot - Rating of Excellent.
 

Where InstaReM could improve

Transparency - Unless you carry out research on your own, you won't find out how much you pay as exchange rate margins.

Addressing customer concerns - A reasonable number of InstaRem reviews on Trustpilot and Google Play Store complain about delayed transfers and poor customer service.