WorldRemit Expands Its Mobile Reach to Vietnam's Banks

WorldRemit app users can now send funds to any bank account in Vietnam, as the money transfer provider expands into Southeast Asia.

The move into Vietnam comes a year after Denver, Colo.-based WorldRemit began its most aggressive global push, expanding into 15 Latin American markets and the U.S., which represents the company's largest market across a service database of more than 110 countries.

Two months ago, WorldRemit added Bosnia and Croatia as countries where its app could send funds.

Vietnam’s large diaspora – numbering some 4 million individuals – plays an important role in contributing to economic growth in the country, WorldRemit said in a Nov. 25 press release.  Vietnamese people abroad sent home $12 billion in remittances in 2014, according to World Bank data the company cited.

“Remittances help Vietnamese all over the world connect with their friends and family abroad," Ismail Ahmed, CEO and founder of WorldRemit, stated in the release. "Up until now, most Vietnamese have had to queue at high-street money transfer agents and incur high fees to send money home."

Backed by early investors in Facebook, Spotify and Dropbox, WorldRemit enables people to send money to friends and family overseas using iOS and Android apps.

Customers already send more than 300,000 transactions with WorldRemit every month, the company said.