Ashish Bajaj - India FinTech Forum

Ashish Bajaj

Ashish Bajaj

Chief Technical Officer

InstaReM

Founded in 2014, InstaReM (short for Instant Remittance) is a Singapore-headquartered Fintech company that provides fast, secure and cost-effective digital cross-border money transfer services for individuals and businesses.

The company is currently licensed in the European Union, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and India. Businesses and individuals in these markets are able to remit money to over 50 countries worldwide.

In January 2015, InstaReM raised an initial US$500,000 from Rocket Internet.

In March 2016, InstaReM successfully raised a US$5 million Series A round led by Vertex Ventures, with participation from Fullerton Financial Holdings and Global Founders Capital.

In July 2017, InstaReM received another US$13 million investment Series B funding led by GSR Ventures, with participation from SBI-FMO Emerging Asia Financial Sector Fund, Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings, and Global Founders Capital.

WHY INSTAREM

InstaReM is a disruptor to traditional remittance firms. Here’s why:

  • Transparency: InstaReM only charges a transparent transaction fee. This is shown before you make the remittance, unlike banks or traditional remittance firms which charge an FX spread (the difference between the inter-bank currency conversion rate and the rate quoted by the bank or money transfer company) in addition to the transaction fee.
  • Competitive transaction fee: InstaReM charges transaction fees of 0.25% – 0.5%, instead of the usual fee plus FX spread. For the last six months, World Bank has consistently ranked InstaReM as the one of the most competitive remittance platforms in a number of Asian corridors including, Australia to India, Malaysia, Philippines and Vietnam as well as from Singapore to Bangladesh, India, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philippines, and Sri Lanka.
  • Speed of transaction: InstaReM is able to transfer funds within 24 hours in Asia, compared to the average two to four days transfer by banks.
  • Wide reach: InstaReM can send funds to over 3.21 billion people across the globe. Businesses and individuals from the European Union, Australia, Canada, Hong Kong, Singapore and India are able to remit money to over 50 countries worldwide.
  • Bulk payments: Corporations / SMEs are able to use InstaReM’s MassPay platform for a seamless process to disburse money to multiple beneficiaries in multiple currencies

FAST FACTS

  • Growing customer base of approximately 22,000 customers
  • Over 150,000 transactions processed per month
  • Average transfer on InstaReM is US$1,800
  • Growing team of 100 employees across six global offices

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