Western Union vs Remitly: Fees & Reviews Compared

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

Below we compare them on their fees and reviews.

Fees

	Western Union	Remitly
Homepage
Transfer Fee	Based on the sender’s location, transfer amount, and payment method. Usually, there’s a fee that’s as low as $0-$15, but some can be as high as $100 if sending to an exotic location or paying by credit card.	$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% – 5%	1% – 2.5%
Minimum Transfer Amount	$1	$1
Maximum Transfer Amount	Depending on the sender’s country: $50,000 if identity verified $3,000 if identity isn’t verified	Depends on the sending and receiving country, the transfer amount, and the transfer method (from $3,000 to £150,000).

Reviews

	Western Union	Remitly
Trustpilot Rating	3.9	4.1
Number of Trustpilot Reviews	50,800	41,300
iOS App Rating	4.8	4.9
Number of iOS App Reviews	630,000	1,200,000
Android App Rating	4.6	4.8
Number of Android App Reviews	28,000	666,000

Features

	Western Union	Remitly
App Transfers	Yes	Yes
Online Transfers	Yes	Yes
Phone Transfers	Yes	No
In-person Transfers	Yes	No
Available Countries	200	180
Number of Currencies	130	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 Phone In person	Web platform Mobile app
Supported Languages	English, Spanish, French, Danish, Norwegian, Turkish, German, Italian, Russian, Swedish, Chinese, Dutch, Polish, Ukrainian, Portuguese, Japanese, and Finnish	English, Spanish, French, Portuguese, Vietnamese, Dutch, German, Polish, Romanian, Italian, Turkish, Chinese, Korean, Filipino, and Thai
Transfer Speed	Within minutes for cash or debit card transfers 1-3 days for transfers between bank accounts	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	Western Union® Netspend® Prepaid Mastercard	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

	Western Union	Remitly
Year Founded	1851	2011
Headquarters	Denver, CO, United States	Seattle, WA, USA
Other Office Locations	Brazil, Sweden, Australia, New Zealand, Poland, Austria, Canada, France, Germany, Italy, China, Japan, Malaysia, Malta, Singapore, Switzerland, South Korea, United Kingdom, etc.	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	$300 billion	$20.4 billion
Number of Employees	10500	1600
Number of Clients	150 million	3 million
Regulatory Institutions	State licensing in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK AUSTRAC in Australia	Department of the Treasury in the USA FINTRAC in Canada FCA in the UK ASIC in Australia Central Bank of Ireland in EU
Awards	Digital Edge 25 Awards (2016) Payments Innovation of the Year (2016) Candidate Experience Award (Talent Board, 2017, 2018) “Way to Go” Champion Award (Denver Regional Council of Governments, 2019) Regional Partner Award (Education for Employment, 2019) Humanitarian Logistics Award (American Logistics Aid Network, 2020) Consumer Payments Innovation Award (FinTech Breakthrough Awards, 2021)	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)

Western Union Pros & Cons

Western Union Pros

• Diverse payment methods
• Availability of cash pickup locations
• High rating on Trustpilot
• Excellent mobile application
• An abundant industry experience
• Comprehensive information repository
• Exceptional convenience
• Worldwide service reach
• Robust currency handling
• Rapid fund transfers
• Fee and rate prediction tool
• Beneficial rewards scheme

Western Union Cons

• Not optimal for substantial money transfers
• High transaction fees
• High markups on exchange rates
• Absence 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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