News

WorldRemit grows US footprint to 47 states

May 16, 2017

WorldRemit is expanding its service in the U.S. to allow 40 million migrants living in the states to send money directly from their mobile phone to the mobile phones of more than 112 million cell phones in the developing world—with no bank account required.

Two-thirds of the world's population has a mobile phone, yet 30 percent lack access to a bank account, according to a press release from WorldRemit.

The company draws on the mobile money technology used in Africa for a decade to make sending money home as easy as sending an instant message to another cell phone, the release said.

The service allows money lets people in emerging market economies to send and receive money using their cell phones—without the need for a bank account, 3G connectivity or Wi-Fi. 

According to the World Bank, the U.S. is the world's largest source of remittances, totaling almost $135 billion of the $600 billion global market annually.

With licenses in almost all states, WorldRemit expects the U.S. will become its largest send market, accounting for up to 40 percent of revenues within the next few years, the release said.