WorldRemit, the global money transfer app, launched remittances to Egypt on Wednesday, according to a company press statement.
The statement said that, through the WorldRemit app, customers in 52 countries can now transfer money directly to any bank account in Egypt, adding that remittances to Egypt totalled more than $19bn in 2014, according to the World Bank.
“WorldRemit empowers customers to send money overseas using iOS and Android mobile apps,” the statement read. “Money transfers sent by Egyptians abroad are a major source of national income, are their remittances revenues exceeded those generated from the Suez Canal.”
By including Egypt, the company has now expanded its services to more than 125 destination countries worldwide.
WorldRemit’s CEO and founder, Ismail Ahmed, said remittances play an important role for prosperity and development in Egypt.
Ahmed added that, from now on, Egyptians abroad can skip the queues at high-street transfer agents and use the WorldRemit app to send money home with just a few taps on their smartphone.
Ahmed noted that in February 2015 WorldRemit received a $100m investment round, led by Technology Crossover Ventures (TCV), early investors in Facebook, Spotify and Dropbox.
WorldRemit currently enables more than 300,000 transactions per month and is available in 52 countries and more than 125 destinations. WorldRemit raised $140m from Accel Partners and TCV.
Transferring money by WorldRemit can be done via Mobile Money, bank transfer, cash pickup, and mobile airtime top-up.
WorldRemit’s global headquarters are in London, UK, with regional offices in the US, Canada, Japan, Australia and New Zealand.
