6 Remitly Alternatives In Canada

Remitly is a digital remittance service based in Seattle, United States of America and currently available in over 150 countries.

They are very popular among the immigrant population that sends money back to their home country. They continue to assist their family members financially either through money transfers from their local bank account to their family’s local bank account or cash pick-up at a nearby Remitly partner.

Remitly is available to users (sender and recipient) in Canada, and here, we look into its alternatives in this part of the world.

Key Features of Remitly

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What is The Best Alternative To Remitly?

Pesa is the best alternative to Remitly offering a convenient way to send and receive money internationally at the best exchange rates in the market. Other alternatives include Xoom, WorldRemit, OFX, MoneyGram, Western Union and XE.

Pesa: Your Secure and Free International Money Transfer Solution

Pesa is a platform that allows you to seamlessly transfer funds between 35+ countries, with every transaction being secure, instant and at no charge. Pesa provides remittance services in over 35 countries, and like Remitly, it is instant and secure.

On the other hand, Remitly charges a fee for each transaction and an added markup on their exchange rate, while Pesa is free per transaction and an exchange rate on par with the mid-market rate. These two features ensure that Pesa users save more money on every new transaction they initiate.

Aside from remittance, Pesa has a feature called the multi-currency wallet. The feature allows users to transfer money between wallets in 8 different currencies. Pesa users gain the ability to be local when they travel to a country that corresponds with their multi-currency wallet. I.e. Pesa users can pay for goods in the local currency of the countries they visit.

All of these services provided by Pesa cost Zero CAD.

Alternatives To Remitly In Canada

If by a slim chance, Pesa isn’t your best alternative to Remitly in Canada, here are some other remittance apps you can choose your preferred one. Here’s a list of some Remitly alternatives you can use in Canada:

Xoom

Our first alternative is PayPal’s remittance company, Xoom. Xoom international money transfer is available in over 140 countries, with an impressive amount of transfer methods that include direct bank deposits, cash pickup or home delivery, and mobile airtime top-up.

Nevertheless, not all transfer options are available to all destination countries, and PayPal’s remittance app has a fairly complicated charging structure. Ensure you compare their fees and options with other alternatives before you settle.

Key Features & Fees

WorldRemit

WorldRemit can be termed a specialist in the international money remittance business. The UK-based fintech provides money transfer via direct bank deposit and cash-pick from WorldRemit agents in over 130 countries, in over 70 currencies. WorldRemit has a high markup on exchange rates while charging a fixed 3.99 CAD for international transfers.

Key Features & Fees

OFX

OFX is an Australian-based international money transfer company with different features and services streamlined for personal (B2C), and small and medium businesses (B2B). OFX claims to facilitate money transfers in over 170 countries in 50-plus currencies at no charge at all. Nevertheless, the financial company informs its users that a third-party bank or intermediary may charge a fee by deducting it from the value of the transfer. There’s no way to know in advance what this fee might be, and it could be as high as $35 or more in one transfer.

Key Features & Fees

MoneyGram

MoneyGram is an international money transfer business based in Texas, United States of America. It has a history dating over 80 years and serves over 150 million customers in over 200 countries and territories.

MoneyGram has a number of ways users can send and receive money–the online option, mobile app or in person at any of their 430,000 plus locations worldwide. They also have a fixed transfer fee, varying third-party fees, and markup on exchange rates offered.

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Key Features

Western Union

Perhaps, the United States-based Western Union is one of the biggest money transfer businesses, with history dating back to the Nineteenth Century (1861). Western Union is a specialist in the cash payment and cash pick-up transfer business. It offers money transfer services in every country on the planet except for Iran and North Korea and boasts over 500,000 retail agents with an average of 24 transactions every second.

Key Features

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Conclusion

Remember to consider the hidden fees in the exchange rate offered by all these Remitly alternatives when making a selection checklist. Any remittance app that saves you money is one to consider for both personal and business needs in Canada. Also, consider the limited transfer options some alternatives have for some countries where your receiver might be resident. And lastly, consider how long the transfer will take–instant or days.

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Create a PESA account today - and start sending and receiving money globally.

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