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WorldRemit launches digital money transfers from Malaysia

20/9/2017 | 3 minute read

WorldRemit is the first international money transfer company approved by Bank Negara under Malaysia’s new regulatory Sandbox programme

Kuala Lumpur and London, 20 September 2017: WorldRemit, the leading digital money transfer company, has launched in Malaysia. This follows the company’s acceptance as one of only four initial entrants into Bank Negara’s Financial Technology Regulatory Sandbox in June - and the appointment of Ridzuan Aziz, a senior Malaysian business leader with experience in compliance advisory and fintech, as WorldRemit’s Malaysia Country Director.

The new service will enable migrants in Malaysia to transfer money to over 140 countries as easily as sending an instant message, using the WorldRemit app or website. This digital, mobile-first model significantly improves security and compliance standards. It also eliminates the need for the sender to visit a bricks and mortar agent, which can be inconvenient and time consuming.

The move sees WorldRemit expanding its presence in Asia significantly to include Malaysia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Japan as send countries. The company has seen remarkable growth across APAC, which now accounts for almost 25% of all transactions sent by WorldRemit globally.

According to the UN the most dynamic growth in remittances over the past decade has been in Asia, which now receives 55% of the total. Remittances sent from Malaysia play an important role in other regional economies – just under $6 billion was sent in 2015, according to the World Bank. Key recipients include the Philippines, Thailand, Vietnam, Indonesia.

Michael Liu, APAC Director at WorldRemit, comments: “Any international financial technology business wanting to achieve a real business presence in Asia Pacific needs to be in Malaysia. Malaysia has a strong economy and a flourishing fintech community. The growing recognition of the importance of innovation, through developments like the country’s new regulatory Sandbox and the Digital Free Trade Zone, signifies greater government policy support for businesses like ours.”

Ridzuan Aziz, Malaysia Country Director at WorldRemit added: “We’re very proud to be included in the first selective group of companies accepted into the Regulatory Sandbox programme. We look forward to offering our services to Malaysians, further supporting the move from archaic offline remittances to safer, faster and lower cost online transfer methods.”

Last month WorldRemit announced a global integration with Google’s Android Pay, followed by a partnership with Huawei’s mobile money platform across Africa.

The company currently handles 74% of all international remittances sent from money transfer operators to mobile money accounts, and is connected to over a fifth of all mobile money accounts globally. Every month WorldRemit users send 700,000 transfers to 140 receiving destinations.

To find out more on how to send money from Malaysia, click here.

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About WorldRemit

We are a leading global payments company and, along with Sendwave, part of Zepz, a group powering two global remittance brands. 

We disrupted an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by taking international money transfers online – making them safer, faster and lower cost. We currently operate in more than 5,000 money transfer corridors worldwide and as part of Zepz, are part of a 1,400 person global workforce.

Sending money with WorldRemit is 100% digital (cashless), increasing convenience and enhancing security. For those receiving money, we offer a wide range of options, including bank transfer, cash pickup, airtime top up and mobile money. 

Backed by Accel, TCV and Leapfrog – WorldRemit’s headquarters are in London, United Kingdom, with regional offices in the United States, Poland, Canada, Australia, Hong Kong, Singapore, Malaysia, the Philippines, South Africa, Somaliland, Uganda, Kenya, Rwanda, Tanzania, Zimbabwe and Belgium.

About Zepz

Zepz Group is the group powering leading global remittance brands: WorldRemit and Sendwave. Since 2021, Zepz Group has been disrupting an industry previously dominated by offline legacy players by reducing the barriers to finance and increasing safety and convenience for users. Every day, Zepz Group and its brands work towards unlocking the prosperity of cross-border communities through finance and technology - driven by the vision of a world that celebrates migrants’ impact on prosperity, at home and abroad.

Zepz Group brands have helped cross-border communities send over $15bn from 50 countries, to recipients in 130 countries in 2022, and operate over 5,000 money transfer corridors worldwide. Zepz Group employs over 1,400 people globally as a remote-first employer, with team members located across six continents.

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