WorldRemit
{{short description|Global cross-border payments company}}
{{Infobox website
| name = WorldRemit Limited
| logo = WorldRemit logo.svg
| logo_size = 300px
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| services = Financial services, Remittance
| founded = {{start date and age|df=yes|2010}}
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| location = London
| country_of_origin = United Kingdom
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| founder = Ismail Ahmed
Richard Igoe
Catherine Wines
| chairman = Ismail Ahmed {{small|(Non-Executive Chairman)}}
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| CEO = Breon Corcoran{{cite web|url=https://news.sky.com/story/uk-fintech-star-worldremit-transfers-in-corcoran-as-new-boss-11532056 |title=UK fintech star WorldRemit transfers in Corcoran as new boss |work=Sky News |last=Kleinman |first=Mark |date=22 October 2018}}
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| employees = 848 (2021){{cite web|url=https://craft.co/worldremit |title=WorldRemit company profile |work=Craft |access-date=15 February 2021}}
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| url = {{URL|https://www.worldremit.com/en}}
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WorldRemit is a digital cross border remittance business that provides international money transfer and remittance services in more than 130 countries and over 70 currencies. It was founded in 2010 by Ismail Ahmed, Catherine Wines, and Richard Igoe.
History
WorldRemit was founded in 2010 by Ismail Ahmed, a former compliance advisor to the United Nations Development Programme.{{cite news|last1=Smale|first1=Will|title=The man changing the world of remittances|url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/business-30192220|agency=BBC News}} In October 2018, the company announced that they would be bringing in Breon Corcoran as CEO.{{cite news|url=https://news.sky.com/story/worldremit-brings-in-former-paddy-power-boss-as-ceo-11532194/|title=WorldRemit brings in former Paddy Power boss as CEO
|newspaper=sky News|date=22 October 2018}} During his tenure WorldRemit acquired SendWave and Zepz was created as the group business housing both the WorldRemit and SendWave brands and businesses. Breon Corcoran left the organization in August 2022,{{Cite web |title=WorldRemit chief Corcoran steps down as IPO prospects stall |url=https://news.sky.com/story/worldremit-chief-corcoran-steps-down-as-ipo-prospects-stall-12637981 |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=Sky News |language=en}} when Mark Lenhard, former COO of bill.com, was appointed Group CEO of Zepz.{{Cite news |date=2022-08-31 |title=WorldRemit Parent Names Lenhard, Ex-Bill.com Executive, as CEO |language=en |work=Bloomberg.com |url=https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2022-08-31/worldremit-parent-names-lenhard-ex-bill-com-executive-as-ceo |access-date=2022-09-02}}
Operations
WorldRemit focuses on cross border remittance money transfers from over 50 countries to over 130 countries around the world.{{Cite web |title=About us |url=https://www.worldremit.com/en/about-us |access-date=2022-09-02 |website=WorldRemit |language=en}} For those receiving money, it offers pay out options including bank deposit, mobile money, mobile airtime top-up and cash pick-up as well as cash delivery.
The firm has a network of more than 5,000 corridors. It is connected to mobile money services globally, including Zaad (Somaliland/Northern Somalia), M-Pesa (Kenya), MTN (Africa and Asia), and bKash (Bangladesh). As of October 2019, it can send funds to 115 different countries; this includes all African countries except for Sudan, South Sudan, Eswatini, Eritrea, Libya, and Algeria.{{cite web|title=Send money to Africa|url=https://www.worldremit.com/en/faq/send-to/africa|work=WorldRemit|access-date=2019-10-10}}
In 2021 WorldRemit acquired Sendwave, another cross-border digital payments company. In 2020 the two processed 50m transactions and facilitated the sending of over $10bn.{{Citation needed|date=January 2022}}
Sanctions for illegal practices with Sendwave app
In 2023 the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau found that Chime Inc, a WorldRemit subsidiary which operates Sendwave, had violated the Electronic Fund Transfer Act and the CFPB Remittance Transfer Rule.{{Cite magazine |last=Witkowski |first=Rachel |date=October 26, 2023 |title=CFPB Cites Sendwave For Misleading Users, Charging Wrongful Fees |url=https://www.forbes.com/advisor/money-transfer/sendwave-money-transfer-risky-apps/ |access-date=2024-06-06 |magazine=Forbes Advisor}} Some of the specific violations were:
- The Sendwave user agreement illegally waived consumer's legal protections regarding liability for losses incurred using the app.
- The speed and cost of transfers were misrepresented. The company promised transfers would happen in seconds, but often took much longer. Transfers to Nigeria were not free as promised.
- Sendwave failed to disclose correct exchange rates or funds availability.
- Sendwave did not have policies and procedures to track and investigate remittance transfer errors, it did not properly investigate errors when it was notified.
- Sendwave sometimes did not provide receipts within the time frame required by the Remittance Transfer Rule.
In its consent decree Chime was ordered to pay $1.5 million in refunds, fined $1.5 million, and it agreed to change its practices.{{Cite press release |date=October 17, 2023 |title=CFPB Takes Action Against Operator of Sendwave App for Illegally Cheating People on International Money Transfers |url=https://www.consumerfinance.gov/about-us/newsroom/cfpb-takes-action-against-operator-of-sendwave-app-for-illegally-cheating-people-on-international-money-transfers/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |publisher=Consumer Financial Protection Bureau |language=en}}{{Cite magazine |date=November 1, 2023 |title=Chime Inc. agrees to pay CFPB $3 million to resolve remittance app allegations |url=https://bankingjournal.aba.com/2023/11/chime-inc-agrees-to-pay-cfpb-3-million-to-resolve-remittance-app-allegations/ |access-date=2024-05-30 |work=ABA Banking Journal |publisher=American Bankers Association|language=en-US}}
Funding
WorldRemit is backed by venture capital companies Accel Partners{{cite news|last1=Lunden|first1=Ingrid|title=Money Transfer Startup WorldRemit Collects Its First Investment, $40M From Accel|url=https://techcrunch.com/2014/03/11/money-transfer-startup-worldremit-collects-its-first-investment-40m-from-accel/|publisher=TechCrunch}} and Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV).{{cite news|title=Somali Entrepreneur Raises $100 Million For Money Transfer Startup WorldRemit|url=https://www.forbes.com/sites/mfonobongnsehe/2015/02/19/somali-entrepreneur-raises-100-million-for-money-transfer-startup-worldremit/|work=Forbes}}
In February 2015, the firm announced a $100m Series B funding round led by TCV.{{cite news|title=London money transfer startup just raised $100m|url=https://www.businessinsider.com/worldremit-raises-100-million-half-billion-valuation-2015-2?r=US|publisher=Business Insider}} It was also announced that TCV General Partner John Rosenberg would join its board.{{cite news|title=WorldRemit announces John Rosenberg to its Board and having raised $100m in Series B funding round led by TCV|url=http://www.talent4boards.com/worldremit-announces-john-rosenberg-to-its-board-and-having-raised-100m-in-series-b-funding-round-led-by-tcv/|publisher=Talent4Boards}}
In 2017, the firm received $40 million in their Series C round of funding, with LeapFrog Investments as the lead investor.{{cite news|last1=Lunden|first1=Ingrid|title=WorldRemit nabs $40M at a $670M valuation to boost its money transfer business|url=https://techcrunch.com/2017/12/06/worldremit-nabs-40m-at-a-670m-valuation-to-boost-its-money-transfer-business/|work=Techcrunch|date=6 December 2017}} In 2019, it raised a $175 million Series D funding round, led by TCV, Accel, and Leapfrog Investments.{{Cite web|url=https://www.worldremit.com/en/news/worldremit-raises-175m-in-series-d-funding|title=WorldRemit raises $175m in Series D funding|website=WorldRemit}}
References
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{{Online remittance}}
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Category:Financial services companies established in 2010
Category:Online remittance providers
Category:Foreign exchange companies
Category:Electronic funds transfer