Digital money transfer platforms like Remitly make sending money abroad—to support family, run a business or top up a wallet while travelling—more secure, affordable and efficient than traditional methods.
Digital money transfer platforms like Remitly make sending money abroad—to support family, run a business or top up a wallet while travelling—more secure, affordable and efficient than traditional methods.
Trust in international money transfers has long been tied to physical places: a bank branch, a post office, a money transfer store. The ability to speak with someone in person and leave with a printed receipt can make the transaction feel more secure. But that familiarity often comes with long lines, fewer payment options and currencies, high fees, inconvenient operating hours, slow delivery times and limited visibility into where the money is.
At the same time, people’s reasons for sending money abroad are expanding. Beyond supporting family back home, cross-border payments today can span tuition fees, topping up local wallets when travelling and business transactions.
That’s why, for a growing number of Canadians and businesses, that traditional model no longer fits. “For people sending money home regularly, friction points like cost, speed and transparency add up,” says Jung Lee, Canada General Manager at Remitly, a global cross-border financial service.
To meet these evolving needs, digital money transfer platforms have emerged as a modern solution. Over the past decade and more, these providers have built global payment infrastructure that links banks, mobile wallets and cash pickup locations around the world. In Remitly’s case, serving millions of Canadians offering a platform powered by a network that includes over 5,500 corridors—transfer routes between countries—spanning 100+ currencies across 175+ countries.
“Digital cross-border payment providers like Remitly are providing customers options and innovation in the financial sector—bringing down costs and increasing transaction speed,” says Lee. She adds that Remitly can also be used for larger transfers, supporting cross-border needs for individuals and entrepreneurs, such as paying for overseas services or tuition.[1]
[1] Sending limits vary by country, delivery method, and FX rates. Banking partner requirements and additional documentation may apply
Built-in legitimacy and trust
Still, Lee understands the trust gap. “We’re talking about moving someone’s hard-earned money across borders to people they care about, often in regions where a failed or delayed transfer has real consequences,” she says. “People worry about whether the company is legitimate, whether their financial data is secure and whether the money will actually arrive where and when it’s supposed to.”
What helps reassure Remitly’s customers is its established roots built on local partnerships and global payments infrastructure. Founded in Seattle in 2011 and publicly traded on Nasdaq, the company in Q1 2026 served more than nine million active customers and processed an estimated more than US$80-billion in send volume in the past 12 months. Remitly also opened its first Canadian post in Vancouver in 2024 to go deeper in Canada, hiring and investing here.
In addition, Lee notes that Remitly is registered as a payment service provider with the Bank of Canada under the Retail Payments Activities Act (RPAA), bringing institutional accountability behind the product. “It signals that the business has been vetted, there are rules it has to play by and there’s recourse if something goes wrong,” says Lee.
How digital money transfers work
Even when people are assured of the legitimacy of digital money transfer services, there is a learning curve for some users. They may assume the process is complicated or that if something goes amiss, there’s no one to call for assistance. Remitly’s process is designed to be straightforward and transparent from the outset.
At a basic level, users set up an account on the app, select where they’re sending money and choose the amount, payment method and delivery method. The exchange rate, fees and delivery time are all shown upfront before the transfer is confirmed.
For Canadian senders, payments can be processed through Interac e-Transfer, bank accounts, debit cards, credit cards and digital wallets. Recipients can receive funds through bank deposits, mobile wallets or cash pickup locations.
Remitly offers worry-free transfers with 24/7 multilingual support, including French, so when you send money from Canada, you’ll be cared for every step of the way. “This removes a lot of the anxiety around whether it will work,” says Lee.
On the security side, Remitly uses transaction monitoring and other controls designed to help detect and prevent suspected fraud and scams. “For most people, that combination is what makes taking the first step feel a lot less daunting,” Lee says.
While the experience takes place on an easy-to-use app, transfers rely on a much larger global payment network working behind the scenes.
“Remitly is a network, not simply an app,” says Lee. “In a sense, we act as a connective tissue between banks globally—the way major credit card networks connect issuers and merchants globally—but we’re purpose-built for cross-border transfers.”
Looking ahead, Lee says digital money transfers will continue to be shaped by faster speeds, lower costs and rising expectations.
“The people sending money internationally today manage their whole financial lives on a phone, and they expect money movement to match,” she says. “The companies that will lead aren’t just those with the best technology. They’re the ones that have earned real trust in the communities they serve on both ends of the transfer.”
