OrbitRemit Review

OrbitRemit offers personal customers an easy way to send money overseas by using its website or app.
 

What OrbitRemit offers

• International money transfers
• Regular transfers
• Cash transfers to some countries
• Payments to government bodies in New Zealand
• OrbitRemit app

International money transfers - These come in the form of Spot Contracts, where exchange rates that apply on your transfer depend on existing market rates.

Regular transfers - Set up recurring transfers to send fixed amounts at designated intervals.

Cash pickup - OrbitRemit offers a cash pay-out option for recipients in the Philippines, Vietnam and Nepal.

Payments to government bodies in New Zealand - Make payments to the New Zealand Inland Revenue Department (IRD), Ministry of Social Development.(MSD) and Ministry of Justice (MOJ).

OrbitRemit app - Create alerts, initiate transfers and track their progress.
 

What OrbitRemit doesn’t do

• Personal account manager
• Travel debit card
• Unique local multi-currency accounts
• Digital wallet

OrbitRemit score

The OrbitRemit personal services score is lower because it does not provide a travel card, a multi-currency account, a digital wallet or access to an account manager.

OrbitRemit offers basic services for business customers, giving them the ability to carry out spot and regular transfers.
 

What OrbitRemit offers

• Spot transfers
• Regular transfers

Spot transfers - Make international payments using OrbitRemit’s exchange rate.

Regular transfers - Set up transfers to go out at predetermined times using prevailing exchange rates.
 

What OrbitRemit doesn’t offer

• Hedging tools such as forward contracts and limit orders
• Unique local multi-currency accounts
• FX optimized travel card
• Business specialists
• Xero integration

OrbitRemit score

The business services score suffers because the company's offerings for business customers are basic. Adding features such as hedging tools, a business travel card and multi-currency accounts will help improve its rating.

OrbitRemit fees

OrbitRemit exchange rates - OrbitRemit’s exchange rates come with a margin of around 0.45% on top of interbank/real exchange rates. The exchange rate on the OrbitRemit homepage fees calculator is not fully transparent, given that it comes with a markup.
 

Are there additional OrbitRemit fees?

Yes, there can be an additional OrbitRemit money transfer fee.

Is the OrbitRemit exchange rate negotiable?

No, the OrbitRemit exchange rate is not negotiable.
 

OrbitRemit fees score

Lack of transparency in OrbitRemit's exchange rates affects their score in this section negatively. This also holds true for its non-negotiable exchange rates. However, its exchange rate margin is competitive against its peers.

Speed of transfer - OrbitRemit’s transfer times depend on the destination country. Most transfers process in 1 - 2  working days. However, you also need to account for the time it takes for your payment to reach OrbitRemit, and the time the receiving bank takes to clear the funds.

ID verification - You can verify your identity - required to activate your OrbitRemit account - by using the company's website or the OrbitRemit app. The company uses a biometric verification software to match its customers to their ID documents. Some of the customer reviews on Trustpilot mention that the verification process can be cumbersome and time consuming.

OrbitRemit app - You may use the app to set up international transfers and track progress. You may also use it to make free payments to the IRD, MOJ and MSD in New Zealand.

Transfer and payment options - You can set up transfers by using the OrbitRemit website or app, but not over the phone. 

Payment options - OrbitRemit accepts payments only via local bank account transfers and POLi (from Australia and New Zealand).
 

OrbitRemit score

The lack of multiple payment methods and the inability to carry out over-the-phone transfers has an adverse effect on OrbitRemit's score in this section.

What OrbitRemit does well

Supported destination countries - OrbitRemit lets its customers transfer money to a number of countries, in currencies that include AUD, BDT, DKK, EUR, GBP, INR, IDR, LKR, MYR, NPR, NZD, NOK, PHP, PLN, SGD, THB, USD, VND, and ZAR.

Maximum sending limits - The company has no maximum sending limits for some of its supported destination countries. Exceptions include Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Nepal, Singapore, Sri Lanka and Thailand.
 

Where OrbitRemit could improve

Send from countries - As of now, the company supports transfers only from the UK, New Zealand and Australia.

Languages - You can use the OrbitRemit website and app only in English.

Customer support - OrbitRemit provides chat support through its app and on OrbitRemit.com. Some customers have complained about not being able to get through to customer service via chat or over the phone in their Trustpilot OrbitRemit reviews. In addition, it appears that the company does not reply to its customers' reviews on Trustpilot. 

What OrbitRemit does well

• Regulated by monetary authorities in the UK, Australia and New Zealand.
• Trustpilot score of 9.6 out of 10 with over 21,000 reviews, and a rating of Excellent. There are generally good reviews overall, but some complaints exist.

Where OrbitRemit could improve

• Exchange rate fee transparency.
• Some Trustpilot reviews complain about the inability to connect with customer service and longer than expected processing times.

OrbitRemit score

OrbitRemit scores well in this iCompareFX scoring category, and can do even better by offering complete transparency in its exchange rates.