The World Bank predicted remittances would decline by almost 20 percent in 2020, the biggest drop in history; Remitly and TransferWise have been able to weather the storm better than others and even grow during the current pandemic; “While we can’t go into specifics, what we can say is that our volume flows actually look pretty similar to what they would normally,” said Nicholas Lembo, Head of Growth, Americas at TransferWise, to American Banker. “Remittances will always be needed, so we’re just focusing on how we can make the best possible way to send money abroad, rather than focusing on how we can adapt to lower remittance volumes; Remitly saw volume rise by 40 percent from February to March and new customer growth tripled year over year in May; “This growth truly speaks to the essential nature of remittances and the accelerated shift to digital,” said John Scrofano, VP of Remitly’s Passbook account, to American Banker. “The resilience of our customers and their steadfast commitment to their loved ones continues to inspire us, and is the motivation behind everything we do.”; both companies have also seen success with their bank-like products which are now core to their offering since many of their primary customers struggle to get traditional bank accounts. American banker.
