Now Officially Operational, TransferWise Offers Faster and More Affordable International Money Transfer Services

Jakarta, November 24, 2020 – TransferWise, the world’s leading provider of cross-border payment and money transfer (remittance) technology, today launched a service for sending money from Indonesia to other countries with significantly lower transfer fees and a faster process.

Starting today, Indonesians can send money to more than 80 countries, including Australia, Malaysia, Singapore, Japan, the United States, the United Kingdom, and China (via Alipay). TransferWise’s money transfer service, in collaboration with local fintech company Instamoney, is accessible via Android and iOS smartphone apps as well as through the website, which is now available in Indonesian.

TransferWise offers money transfer technology that is:

• Affordable – TransferWise’s service fees are 2.5 times cheaper than transfer fees charged by banks or other service providers
• Fast – 50% of cross-border money transfers via TransferWise arrive within one hour. In fact, 30% of money transfers reach their destination in less than 20 seconds.
• Convenient—money transfers are 100% online. From verification to transaction completion, everything is done without leaving home.
• Transparent – The only money transfer service that uses the mid-market exchange rate, as shown on Google.

Market research conducted by TransferWise shows that the cost of sending money internationally from Indonesia using TransferWise can be 2.5 times cheaper than bank transfers and other money transfer providers. For example, sending 2.5 million IDR to Europe in Euros costs only 39,646 IDR in transfer fees, whereas the cost via a bank is 93,912 IDR. Transfer fees to other destination countries and currencies (for an amount of 2.5 million IDR) are as follows:

Transfer fees for Rp 2.5 million via TransferWise to various countries:Australia – Rp 40,079United Kingdom – Rp 40,805Japan – Rp 74,961Malaysia – Rp 42,515Singapore – Rp 43,584United States – Rp 47,910

The launch of TransferWise in Indonesia follows the introduction of money transfer services to Indonesia in 2016 and the ability to send money from abroad to e-wallets such as GoPay, OVO, and Dana since November 2019.

Venkatesh Saha—Head of APAC and Middle East Expansion at TransferWise—has identified a significant demand for remittances among the Indonesian public. “Money transfers from Indonesia are among the highest-demand requests we receive. So we’re excited to finally be able to offer money transfer services to Indonesia. Starting now, the Indonesian public can send money abroad more quickly and conveniently through our digital service at the lowest fees,” added Venkatesh Saha.

According to World Bank data, overseas remittances have continued to grow steadily, reaching 5 billion U.S. dollars in 2019. This data aligns with the increasing number of Indonesian students studying abroad, which has risen by approximately 35 percent over the past ten years, according to ICEF Monitor data.

Elian Ciptono—Head of Indonesia Expansion at TransferWise—explained that, according to a survey conducted in Indonesia, Indonesians sending money abroad have primarily been families sending funds, including to cover their children’s school fees. “The survey also showed that 90% of them feel burdened by high transfer fees. Not only are other remittance services expensive, but they’re also considered difficult and slow. That’s why TransferWise is on a mission to change the status quo, making cross-border money transfers as easy as sending an email,” added Elian.

To offer money transfer services from Indonesia to other countries, TransferWise is collaborating with local fintech company Instamoney (PT Syaftraco), which has already obtained a license from Bank Indonesia as a remittance provider. “We are very pleased to welcome this collaboration with TransferWise, which makes international money transfers much cheaper and faster. We share the same ambition to set new standards in the financial and remittance industries, to deliver the best financial solutions, and we hope this will have a positive impact on the people of Indonesia,” said Tessa Wijaya, COO & Co-founder of Instamoney.

About TransferWise

TransferWise is a global technology company that provides services for sending money around the world. You can send money to other countries, shop abroad, or make and receive international business payments. TransferWise’s mission is to make your life easier and save you money.

TransferWise was founded in 2011 by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann. TransferWise is one of the world’s fastest-growing technology companies, having raised over 1 billion USD in primary and secondary transactions from investors such as D1 Capital Partners, Lead Edge, Lone Pine, Vitruvian, IVP, Merian Chrysalis Investment Company Ltd, Andreessen Horowitz, Sir Richard Branson, Valar Ventures, and Max Levchin of PayPal.

More than nine million people have used TransferWise to process cross-border transactions totaling over 6 billion USD every month.

The claim that it is “up to 2.5 times cheaper” than banks and other providers is based on independent research conducted by Marketing Research Indonesia, an Indonesia-based market research firm. The study compared the costs of sending money abroad in November 2020 among eight banks and the top money transfer providers operating in Indonesia, for transfers from the Indonesian rupiah to the United States, Australia, the United Kingdom, Europe, Singapore, and Japan, including upfront fees and exchange rate markups.

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