Is WorldRemit Safe?
WorldRemit offers payments in 70+ currencies, to over 130 countries around the world, with a focus on helping people working overseas to send money home safely and cheaply. If you’re thinking of using WorldRemit, you probably have one key question: Is WorldRemit legit? This guide has you covered.
Quick Summary
Large, safe and established international transfer service
Regulated by the Central Bank in Malaysia
Strict account verification processes in place
Secure website and app service
Dedicated team of anti fraud analysts to protect customers
Is WorldRemit safe?
We’ll move into more detail about WorldRemit’s approach to customer safety and security in just a moment. To start us off, here are some key facts and figures about WorldRemit
Regulators: The Central Bank of Malaysia
Established in: 2010
Customer numbers: 5.7 million
Volume of transfers: 26.7 million USD/year
As a global business, World Remit is also licensed and regulated according to local laws in any other country in which they operate. In the US, WorldRemit is licensed by the Colorado Division of Banking as a money transmitter, while other regulatory bodies around the world include FINTRAC in Canada, or AUSTRAC in Australia.
How is WorldRemit regulated?
WorldRemit (Malaysia) is approved by the Central Bank of Malaysia with a Class-B license to provide digital money remittance services. That means it has to follow a suite of rules designed to keep customers and their money safe, and offer reassurance that a provider is well run with good processes in place.
Is WorldRemit safer than traditional banks?
Sending money through WorldRemit is safe.
Banks often offer a bigger range of financial products and services compared to money transfer services, including things like credit cards and loans. That may mean they’re subject to a broader range of regulations, too. However, when it comes to international payments you can rest assured that WorldRemit is as safe as using a bank to send money - and often cheaper and faster, too.
WorldRemit security measures
WorldRemit puts customer security measures in place for all payments and accounts. There’s a verification process used to make sure accounts are kept safe, and a dedicated anti-fraud team which will monitor accounts for unusual transactions. If they spot anything out of character, they’ll be able to pause a payment until they’ve checked it is legitimate.
Additionally, WorldRemit suggests customers take a few sensible steps of their own to stay safe when sending money:
Choose a strong account password and don’t share it with anyone
Learn to spot and avoid fraud and scams
Maintain your devices - keep them password protected and use anti-virus software if you can
Check the website you’re using is secure (the padlock symbol in the browser shows this)
Is WorldRemit legit?
WorldRemit is a global company with a large user base and an agent network around the world. They’re registered in Malaysia, and fully regulated here and around the world - in fact, they’ve been in business for over a decade already, and are trusted by close to 6 million customers.
Choosing a credible, trusted provider when you opt to send a payment through a specialist service is crucial. WorldRemit has the required licences in Malaysia and beyond, a strong reputation among customers, and also takes additional steps to protect customers through account verification and anti fraud monitoring.
Is WorldRemit safe to transfer money?
Using WorldRemit is safe. Once your payment has been set up online or in the WorldRemit app, you’ll fund it by card or with FPX. Once the money arrives in WorldRemit’s account, they’ll pass it right on to your recipient. 95% of WorldRemit transfers are available for the recipient in just a few minutes.
Is WorldRemit safe to keep money with?
Typically, WorldRemit won’t hold customer funds. Once the money arrives it will be passed on quickly to the recipient. However, if there is ever any reason to hold customer money - for example pending verification checks - customer funds will be kept separately to WorldRemit’s own funds for safety.
Is WorldRemit safe for large amounts?
WorldRemit is a safe provider to send high value payments - but it does have limits on the amount of money you can send per transfer, per day, and within a 30 day period:
WorldRemit transaction limit - 14,500 MYR/transfer
WorldRemit daily limit - 30,000 MYR/day
WorldRemit monthly limit - up to 10 transactions in a rolling 30 day period
Before you make a large payment with WorldRemit it’s worth checking you’re fully verified. Because WorldRemit has to stick within legislation both in Malaysia, and in the destination countries it sends to, you may be asked to provide additional documents when you make a larger payment. Getting this step out of the way before you get started can help the process run smoother.
Can you get scammed on WorldRemit?
Fraudsters and scammers can look for victims through a range of financial service providers, including WorldRemit. It’s important to stay vigilant when you use any money transfer service, to make sure you’re not caught out. Usually, all you need to do is take some simple and sensible precautions to avoid WorldRemit frauds.
WorldRemit advises customers to consider the following pointers when trying to spot fraudsters:
They create panic - if someone, for example, is suggesting your account has been compromised or locked - double check it’s genuine before replying
You should never feel pressured into sending money or handing over personal data
If someone is being overly helpful when trying to arrange a payment or resolve a problem, double check their credentials and details
Fraudsters may text, email and call to try to demonstrate credibility - you still need to check you’re talking to a genuine member of WorldRemit staff before sharing any information with them
Services which offer cash collection services, like WorldRemit, are also targeted by fraudsters because cash payments can be received in minutes and are usually impossible to get back once collected.
Scams include people posing as a friend or relative and asking you to send a payment, or asking for money in order to release a larger amount - as an administration payment to get an inheritance or lottery prize for example.
Can I avoid falling victim to fraud?
To stay safe, it’s best to use WorldRemit only to send money to friends and family, and people you trust.
World Remit also has a handy online security centre which covers some common types of scam and fraud to look out for. If you have questions or need to check if a message purporting to be from WorldRemit is real, you can get in touch via Twitter on @WorldRemitHelp.
Is your personal data safe on WorldRemit?
WorldRemit takes the security of customers’ personal data seriously. All data collected in Malaysia by WorldRemit is covered by data protection legislation here and around the world.
There are a number of reasons why WorldRemit will collect information about customers - to comply with legislation, to process transactions, and to improve their services, for example. Customers can’t opt out of some types of data collection, but can ask to stop their data being used for marketing. You can do this easily by sending an email to [email protected] with URGENT - UNSUBSCRIBE REQUEST in the subject line and the email address that you wish to be removed within the email.
Customer data is kept securely, and WorldRemit will not sell, rent or disclose information to unaffiliated third parties. It will share data with other companies in the same group, though, and may also use customer data for analysis purposes. This is pretty standard among companies which need to collect customer data in person and online.
What personal data does WorldRemit collect?
The types of data WorldRemit may collect about you include:
Your personal and contact information - name, email, phone number
Demographic information about your age, gender, and interests
Bank and payment details
Information from other social media services if you give consent
Technological information - your IP address, browser or device type for example
Information about third parties - such as the personal information of anyone you send money to
Any information WorldRemit collects about you will be kept for as long as is legally or practically required. This usually means it will be held for 6 years after you close your WorldRemit account or stop processing transactions.
How to get started on WorldRemit?
You can create a WorldRemit account online on the desktop site or by downloading the WorldRemit app on your mobile device.
Select Sign Up
Confirm the country you’re sending from
Enter your email address and set a password
Follow the onscreen prompts to add your personal details
Complete the verification step
When you create an account or send money, WorldRemit may ask to check your name, date of birth and address by having you upload a selfie and an image of relevant documents. These could be:
Malaysian: National Identity Card, Passport, MyTentera
Permanent Resident: MyPR, Foreign Passport
Foreign National: Foreign Passport
Conclusion
WorldRemit is a popular and long established provider of international money transfer and remittances. The business is fully authorised and regulated in Malaysia and in the destination countries it covers, making it a safe way to send and receive international payments.
WorldRemit keeps customers safe using account verification steps, and dedicated analysts behind the scenes looking for unusual or suspicious activity which could be fraudulent.