Remitly vs Instarem: Fees & Reviews Compared

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

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	Remitly	Instarem
Homepage
Transfer Fee	$0.00 – $50 depends on the selected countries, the transfer amount, and the payment method ($3.00 – $7.00 on average).	Depends on the selected countries, the transfer amount, and the selected payment method.
Average Exchange Rate Markup	1% – 2.5%	0.3% – 0.6%
Minimum Transfer Amount	$1	$1 ($50 for India)
Maximum Transfer Amount	Depends on the sending and receiving country, the transfer amount, and the transfer method (from $3,000 to £150,000).	Depends on the origin country and the selected payment method.

Reviews

	Remitly	Instarem
Trustpilot Rating	4.1	4.4
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	41,300	8,000
iOS App Rating	4.9	3.7
Number of iOS App Reviews	1,200,000	530
Android App Rating	4.8	4.3
Number of Android App Reviews	666,000	7,800

Features

	Remitly	Instarem
App Transfers	Yes	Yes
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	No	No
In-person Transfers	No	No
Available Countries	180	60
Number of Currencies	75	30
Payment Methods	Bank account Debit card Credit card iDeal Passbook Klarna	Bank account Debit card Credit card PayNow PayID POLi FPX Interac
Receiving Methods	Online wallet Bank account Cash pickup Home delivery	Bank account Alipay wallet in China Cash pickup in the Philippines
Cash Pickup Option	Yes	Only for the Philippines
Payments Flexibility	Web platform Mobile app	Web platform Mobile app
Supported Languages	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai	English
Transfer Speed	Within minutes (express delivery) 3-5 days (economy delivery)	1-2 days
Dedicated Dealer	No	No
Instant Custom Quote	No	Yes
Business Features	N/A	Bulk Payments
Debit Card	Passbook	amaze by Instarem
Cancellation Policy	Only available for transfers that are still “in the hands” of Remitly. Once they are intercepted by a bank, transfers cannot be canceled.	Without a cancellation fee if the transfer hasn’t been processed. Contact customer services to discuss cancellation if the transfer has been processed.
Suitability	Small money transfers	Small money transfers

Company Comparison

	Remitly	Instarem
Year Founded	2011	2014
Headquarters	Seattle, WA, USA	Singapore
Other Office Locations	Spokane (WA, USA), Cork (Ireland), Managua (Nicaragua), Manila (Philippines), Krakow (Poland), London (the UK), Amsterdam (the Netherlands), Tel Aviv (Israel), and Singapore	Canada, the United States, the United Kingdom, Lithuania, India, Hong Kong, Japan, Malaysia, Indonesia, and Australia
Annual Trading Volume	$20.4 billion	$3 billion
Number of Employees	1600	300
Number of Clients	3 million	1 million
Regulatory Institutions	Department of the Treasury in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia Central Bank of Ireland in EU	FinCEN in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia The Bank of Lithuania in the EU MAS in Singapore CED in Hong Kong Central Bank of Malaysia in Malaysia Bank of Indonesia in Indonesia Kanto Local Finance Bureau in Japan Reserve Bank of India in India
Awards	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)	Singapore Fintech Award (Singapore Fintech Festival, 2017) FinTech Rising Star Award (India FinTech Awards, 2017) Outstanding Digital Cross-Border Money Transfer Service (India FinTech Awards, 2017) Blockchain Innovator Award (Swell by Ripple, 2018) Excellence in Payments (Fintech Australia, 2018) Best Value International Money Transfer Provider Award (Mozo Experts Choice, 2020 and 2021)

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

Instarem Pros & Cons

Instarem Pros

• A wide array of payment choices
• Exceptional customer service
• High rating on Trustpilot
• Instant, free quotes providing transparency and avoiding hidden costs
• Attractive foreign exchange rates
• Quick money transfers
• Exclusive amaze card
• Robust mobile app for easy access
• International service reach covering over 60 countries
• Broad currency coverage

Instarem Cons

• Not ideal for large financial transfers
• Limited support for multiple languages
• Limited support for less common, exotic currencies
• No cash pickup options (only available for residents in the Philippines)
• No hedging tools such as forward contracts or limit orders for businesses

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