MoneyGram vs Remitly: Fees & Reviews Compared

Both MoneyGram and Remitly are popular international money transfer services. But which one is better?

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	MoneyGram	Remitly
Homepage
Transfer Fee	Depends on the location, the sending amount, and the payment method. Can be as low as $0-$15 and as high as $100.	$0.00 – $50 depends on the selected countries, the transfer amount, and the payment method ($3.00 – $7.00 on average).
Average Exchange Rate Markup	1% to 5%	1% – 2.5%
Minimum Transfer Amount	£50	$1
Maximum Transfer Amount	$10,000 per online transfer for most countries (with a $10,000 as a monthly cap) $25,000 for online transfers to 42 select countries from the US.	Depends on the sending and receiving country, the transfer amount, and the transfer method (from $3,000 to £150,000).

Reviews

	MoneyGram	Remitly
Trustpilot Rating	4.5	4.1
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	34,800	41,300
iOS App Rating	4.9	4.9
Number of iOS App Reviews	422,000	1,200,000
Android App Rating	4.6	4.8
Number of Android App Reviews	88,000	666,000

Features

	MoneyGram	Remitly
App Transfers	Yes	Yes
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	No	No
In-person Transfers	Yes	No
Available Countries	200	180
Number of Currencies	60	75
Payment Methods	Bank account Debit card Credit card Cash	Bank account Debit card Credit card iDeal Passbook Klarna
Receiving Methods	Online wallet Bank account Cash pickup Home delivery	Online wallet Bank account Cash pickup Home delivery
Cash Pickup Option	Yes	Yes
Payments Flexibility	Web platform Mobile app In person	Web platform Mobile app
Supported Languages	English, Spanish, French, German, Italian, Portuguese, Danish, Norwegian, Arabic, Russian, Ukrainian, Japanese, Czech, Turkish, Hungarian, Polish, Romanian, Indonesian, Thai, Korean, Malaysian, and Chinese	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai
Transfer Speed	Within minutes (cash transfers) 1-3 days (bank and debit card transfers)	Within minutes (express delivery) 3-5 days (economy delivery)
Dedicated Dealer	No	No
Instant Custom Quote	Yes	No
Business Features	N/A	N/A
Debit Card	None	Passbook
Cancellation Policy	Cancellations are possible as long as the money hasn’t been claimed by the recipient.	Only available for transfers that are still “in the hands” of Remitly. Once they are intercepted by a bank, transfers cannot be canceled.
Suitability	Small money transfers	Small money transfers

Company Comparison

	MoneyGram	Remitly
Year Founded	1940	2011
Headquarters	Dallas, TX, US	Seattle, WA, USA
Other Office Locations	Denver (Colorado, US), Minneapolis (Minnesota, US), Brussels (Belgium), São Paulo (Brazil), Vancouver (Canada), Shanghai (China), Hong Kong (China), Mumbai (India), Jakarta (Indonesia), Dublin (Ireland), Rome (Italy), Mexico City (Mexico), Warsaw (Poland), Singapore, Madrid (Spain), Istanbul (Turkey), and London (UK)	Spokane (WA, USA), Cork (Ireland), Managua (Nicaragua), Manila (Philippines), Krakow (Poland), London (the UK), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Tel Aviv (Israel), and Singapore
Annual Trading Volume	N/A	$20.4 billion
Number of Employees	2500	1600
Number of Clients	150 million	3 million
Regulatory Institutions	New York State Department of Financial Services in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA and HMRC in the UK National Bank of Belgium in EU	Department of the Treasury in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia Central Bank of Ireland in EU
Awards	Best Cash Innovation and Best Comeback Story (PYMNTS Innovator Awards, 2016 and 2017) Technology Innovation Award (Asian Bankers, 2017) Money Transfer Awards (Mobex Africa Innovation, 2018) Top 100 Places to Work (The Dallas Morning News, 2021) Top Workplaces USA Award (Top Workplaces, 2022) Best Use of Blockchain in FinTech (FinTech Breakthrough Awards, 2023)	Startup of the Year (GeekWire Awards, 2016) Game Changer Award (Tech Impact Awards, Seattle Business Magazine, 2017) Named one of the Deloitte Technology Fast 500 (Deloitte, 2017) Most Innovative Companies (Fast Company, 2018) FinTech 50 (Forbes, 2019) Named one of the CNBC Disruptor 50 (CNDC, 2019) Technology Pioneer (World Economic Forum, 2019)

MoneyGram Pros & Cons

MoneyGram Pros

• A vast range of payment methods
• Outstanding customer support
• Impressive rating on Trustpilot
• Diverse options for receiving funds
• Availability of cash pickup
• Extensive global presence, covering over 200 countries and territories
• Robust currency portfolio including 58 different major currencies
• A top-rated mobile application
• Extensive industry experience
• Swift money transfer services
• Loyalty rewards program

MoneyGram Cons

• Less ideal for handling large financial transfers
• Limited maximum transfer amounts
• A possibility of substantial transfer fees
• Above-average exchange rate markups
• Lack of hedging options for businesses

Remitly Pros & Cons

Remitly Pros

• Plenty of ways to fund your transfer
• Excellent customer service
• Decent Trustpilot rating
• Fixed transfer fees
• A knowledge base that’s a treasure trove of knowledge
• Extensive global coverage
• Trade 75 different currencies
• Top-tier mobile app
• No minimum transfer limit when sending
• Instantaneous money transfers
• Worldwide locations for cash pickup

Remitly Cons

• Not great for large money transfers
• Doesn’t provide dedicated account managers
• Exchange rates spreads can be large
• No option for instant custom quotes

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