Remittance firm expands to Canada

US-based mobile payments firm Remitly has set up shop in Canada, giving overseas Filipinos residing in that country a mobile option to remit money to the Philippines at a lower cost.

Remitly, an independent digital money transmitter which focuses the remittance of funds from North America to top three emerging market destinations—the Philippines, Mexico and India—announced its expansion to Canada alongside the closing of a $38.5-million funding.

The expansion to Canada is seen as an important step in expanding Remitly’s global footprint. Canada is home to more than 7.4 million immigrants, many of whom have families overseas.

Canadian residents transfer more than $23 billion yearly, with $2.9 billion going to India and $2.1 billion to the Philippines, the company estimated.

“Since day one our strategy has been to bring our service to the largest addressable remittance markets in the world,” Remitly chief executive officer Matt Oppenheimer said. “With this new financing, we are able to continue executing against that strategy by building a global footprint in the largest remittance corridors.”

Remitly is a mobile payments service that enables consumers to make person-to-person international money transfers from North America. Its online service uses the latest technology and mobile devices to eliminate the forms, codes, agents, extra time, and fees tied to the traditional money transfer process. It is a licensed money transmitter operating in 49 states and Washington, D.C. Doris Dumlao-Abadilla