Chennai: The remittance industry has always been of use for India due to its large diaspora and overseas expatriate population. The country remains to be the top receiver of remittance, followed by China.
With the World bank stating that the overall global remittance, in 2018, grew 10 per cent to $689 billion, including $528 billion to developing countries, the potential of the market is not to be undermined.
Private digital remittance company Remitly, which is headquartered in the United States recently released an update to its money transfer service to India that moved its daily sending limit to $30,000 on money sent to India from the United States.
With workers’ remittances forming a significant part of international capital flows, especially with regard to labour-exporting countries, and India being one of those, News Today had an email interaction with Ruchika Kohli, who is the global marketing head – South Asia at Remitly.
Excerpts from her interview:
Q: What reasons drove Remitly to consider increasing the transaction amount?
A: Remitly’s vision is to make sending money seamless and easier across the world. Increasing the limit, so customers can send more if they want, removes a friction point some of our customers experienced. We’re very focused on having the best customer experience and this is an example of how we work to do that.
Q: Did the weakening rupee against the dollar play a role in the decision?
A: No. We launched this feature earlier this year. We have a deep understanding of foreign exchange rates and the industry, we also understand that a strengthening on one side corresponds with a weakening of the other. We care about both sides deeply and strive to offer fair and transparent rates to transform the lives of immigrants and their families with our service.
Q: For the past three decades remittances have been growing the world over. How would you rate Asia and specifically India on that front?
A: The remittance industry is undergoing a rapid digital transformation and India is the top receiver of remittances in the world, receiving over $69 billion in remittances in 2017, higher than any other country. Each year the World Bank projects more growth in worldwide remittances flows.
Q: Remitly speaks about helping immigrants. Could you explain exactly how much percentage economic migrants avail your services?
A: Nearly $600 billion is sent around the world through remittances. Remitly is focused on helping the segment of remittance flows which is mostly made up of people who have made the sacrifice of leaving their families behind to live and work in another country to support them financially. Typically these remittances are sent from people in higher income countries to people in low-to-middle income countries. These unsung heroes deliver on their promises to take care of those they love and provide them with upward mobility, improving their quality of life. It’s about 75 per cent of the total remittance market. We’re currently in nearly 600 send-to-received corridors which is about a $400 billion total addressable market.
Q: What are the security aspects that set Remitly apart from other service providers in the industry
A: We work with some of the best partners in the world including yes bank, HDFC bank and others in India. By being purely digital, using technology and machine learning, we are able to bring down operational costs and pass those savings on to our customers giving them great rates and low fees so more money per dollar or pound gets to their families in other countries. For simplicity, we offer one fixed exchange rate for any amount sent, a unique feature of ours.
Q: Could you explain Remitly’s view about India as a market?
A: Our focus is on addressing the largest corridors with the largest flow of remittances. We don’t have one single market we are looking to serve in India. Our goal is to reach everyone who needs to send money to or receive money in India. Overall with the increased remittance growth to India, we’re seeing money sent to India evenly distributed across the nation with our wide network of over 150 banking partners that reach across the country. This provides better access to receive funds to the recipients across India.
Q: Innovation is the key to survive in this digital age. What has Remitly been up to recently?
A: Currently we’re aggressively expanding across the world. A year ago we were serving 13 countries, now we’re serving 40 and quickly growing. We’re continuously improving our service and adding new enhancements. In the US to India corridor we offer the ability to send up to $30,000 in one single transfer, one fixed exchange rate for any amount, zero transfer fees for transfers of $1,000+, even when sending with a debit card.
Q: Remitly’s perception about where the industry is heading towards and future changes
A: Industry is heading towards minimal touch points with multiple send received options. Digital providers are disrupting the centuries-old remittance providers by offering better fees, exchange rates, faster transfers, and much less friction.
| In numbers |
| Overall global remittance is expected to grow 3.7 per cent to $ 715 billion in 2019, including $549 billion to dveloping nations.
India remains the top receiver of remittance with $80 billion in 2018. In 2017 the country clocked $69 billion (2.7 per cent of India’s GDP) in remittances. Other top recipients were $67 billion to China, $34 billion each to Philippines and Mexico and $26 billion to Egypt. |
| Know the firm |
| On Tuesday Remitly announced a major expansion, expanding its mobile remittance service to 40 countries across the world. The firm was most fueled by a $115 million investment round last year. Remitly now has nearly 800 employees, with 200 people at its Seattle headquarters.
Remitly, ranked No six on the GeekWire 200 list of top Pacific Northwest startups, recently added new services such as home delivery and support for mobile wallets. Total funding is $175 million to date. Remitly’s investors include Naspers’ PayU; World Bank’s International Finance Corporation; Silicon Valley Bank; Stripes Group; DN Capital; QED Investors; Tomorrow Ventures; Trilogy Equity Partners; Bezos Expeditions; Founders’ Co-op; and DFJ. |