Last updated on August 5th, 2024 at 04:27 pm
A note from Matt, our CEO:
2023 was an incredible year for Remitly. It’s with gratitude that I sit here today and write this letter, reflecting on a year of growth that made us proud, tackling hard problems that built our resilience, and a year of opportunity that made us think bigger and believe that even more is possible.
First, a brief look back at some highlights from the last year. Revenue grew 44% in 2023 driven by both new and existing customers. We delivered $44 million of Adjusted EBITDA, our first full year of Adjusted EBITDA profitability, as we benefited from growth and strong execution across our global teams. And importantly, we helped our customers send $39.5 billion around the world, while continuously improving their remittance experience with enhancements across product, customer support, and our robust disbursement network.
Since Remitly was founded in 2011, we’ve held our gaze on a North Star vision that has instilled long-term focus and informed our strategy. This customer centric vision has served us well, catapulting our growth and driving us to become a leading digital financial services provider for immigrants and their families. Today, Remitly serves millions of customers across approximately 5,000 corridors, who have put their trust in us to deliver billions of dollars to family and loved ones abroad, supporting some of their most critical needs.
Recognizing how far we’ve come, we also remain keenly aware that Remitly has captured just 2% of the overall cross border payments market. The opportunity to serve more customers than ever with truly differentiated payments experiences, and to address their financial services needs more holistically with complementary products, is massive. In this next phase of Remitly’s journey, the vision that will continue to inspire us to think bolder, reach higher, and act more audaciously is to:
Transform Lives With Trusted Financial Services That Transcend Borders
In last year’s shareholder letter, we explored Remitly’s vision, double clicking on the intentional inclusion of the word “trusted,” and what that word means in the context of our business. This year, I hope your takeaway is a clear understanding of the word “transform,” and the reason for its prominence in the vision statement that guides our work.
At Remitly, transforming lives means addressing real customer problems in a truly differentiated way to eliminate pain and deliver unparalleled peace of mind. This is an especially weighty commitment as the effects of global inflation, currency fluctuations, and geopolitical instability create more economic need than ever. We are not satisfied by simply creating something useful that adds incrementally to our customers’ daily lives. We strive to deliver something extraordinary that will allow customers and their families to reach new heights through financial empowerment, and at the same time, eliminate the elements of anxiety and concern that are commonly associated with aspects of our financial lives. This version of transformation is our destination. And the progress we’re making is tangible.
From innovation to transformation
It was early in my career when I was first exposed to the world of cross border payments𑁋 I was awed by the tremendous impact remittances had on communities around the world, frustrated at the pain that legacy systems created for those who depended on them, and inspired by the opportunity to innovate and transform an industry. Remitly was born from this experience, and I’m incredibly proud of the role we’ve played in driving the industry forward through digital innovation.
An important insight we’ve gained over thirteen years in this business, is that our customers’ purchasing decisions are not rooted in a single aspect of the remittance experience𑁋 not speed, not convenience, not cost𑁋 but rather, in trust. It’s this understanding that has guided our deliberate investments to reinvent cross border payments. We have been methodically innovating across each step of the deeply complex cross border payments process to achieve what no one else has𑁋 a truly seamless, trust-building experience that creates customer preference and delivers peace of mind with every transaction.
Put more plainly, customers want a fair service that just works. At face value, this seems obvious and simple, but in reality, it is a $1.8 trillion¹ problem that has yet to be solved and Remitly is well positioned to achieve it. A critical component of our favorable position in reaching this reality is our ability to continuously improve our systems and operations using the significant insights and experience we gain by serving millions of customers. This in turn allows us to greatly improve outcomes for customers, and continuously enhance and differentiate the Remitly experience. Further, we understand that while remittances are global, customers are local. Our extensive insights about the localized needs, preferences, and behaviors of our customers and their loved ones, equip us to deliver products, services, and communications that resonate and feel tailor made.
Through innovation, technology, and tireless effort, we have made incredible strides. In the fourth quarter of 2023, more than 90%²,³ of Remitly transactions were disbursed in under an hour, with more than 95%² of those payments proceeding without a customer support contact. These metrics speak to the returns we’re seeing on our investments, and the differentiated experience we offer our customers. While we celebrate this strong momentum, we recognize that until sending money across borders is as easy as domestic payments, the work is incomplete. We will continue our core product investments as we drive toward a next generation payments platform that delivers unparalleled peace of mind.
And we don’t plan to stop there. Remitly is committed to empowering our global customers in new and remarkable ways, to take ownership of all aspects of their financial lives with products and services that transcend borders. We have always believed that remittances are the cornerstone of our customers’ financial services needs. The ability to send money home to family and loved ones to support their daily requirements and celebrate life’s big moments is paramount. But remittances are just the tip of the iceberg. Our customers have unmet needs that are directly tied to their commitments to sending money home. By addressing these gaps, we will offer transformative value, enhance our competitive position, and strengthen customer loyalty.
To that end, we continue to make strategic investments in our unique technology platform. We are building a strong foundation to efficiently scale new products and features to the millions of customers we serve today, and to make our offerings even more attractive to new customers with cross border financial needs. Our excitement is building as we continue to innovate and test new ways to serve our customers more holistically with products that are complementary to our core remittance offering.
Each day, our long-term investments in the key areas described above, are moving us closer to truly transformative outcomes for our customers and their loved ones. But it’s not our investments alone that give us confidence in our ability to succeed. The underpinnings of our continued momentum are defined by the resilience of our customers and the enduring culture that is embodied by nearly 3 thousand Remitlians worldwide.
Resilient customers
We are in the incredibly fortunate position to serve an amazing customer base whose sending behavior is both predictable and resilient. Our customers’ tenacity and reliability has been tested and reinforced through macroeconomic cycles, including those defined by a global pandemic, cost of living crises, and natural disasters around the world.
Similar to a subscription business, our customers’ requirements for our service are recurring. For the vast majority, their reason for sending is to satisfy ongoing, non-discretionary needs. On the receiving end of their payments are family members and loved ones who are depending on them for food, housing, and medical requirements. In fact, research that we conducted in 2022 of more than 2,000 remittance senders, confirmed that 54% of funds sent, are used to support everyday household requirements like food, utilities, and clothing. An additional 31% of the funds help to cover medical expenses.
Our customers’ strength and resilience inspire us and fuel the commitment we’ve made to achieving our long-term vision. That is why customer centricity sits central to the cultural values that guide our daily work.
Enduring culture
I’ll never forget the early days of building Remitly; sitting around a whiteboard with my co-founders, asking ourselves “what kind of company do we want to work for?” The answers to that question informed the initial set of values that guided our ways of working. We believed back then, as we do today, that a thriving culture has the power to propel a business toward transformative outcomes. It is with this mindset that we continuously invest to build an enduring culture, rooted in customer centricity.
There are many reasons I believe the culture at Remitly is unique and durable. For the sake of brevity, I’ll highlight just three:
- Our culture is living and breathing— our values evolve as the needs of the business and our customers change. We recognize that what got us “here” is not necessarily what will get us “there,” and so, we regularly refresh our values to keep us moving in the right direction.
- Our values can be used in everyday conversation— we have written them in such a way that they are seamlessly incorporated into our daily interactions, deep discussions, and are used in the rooms where decisions are made.
- Our values are present in every phase of the employee lifecycle to maintain the strength and continuity of our culture. From cultural interviews in the talent evaluation process, to values-based assessments to measure performance, we are committed to creating a culture that stands the test of time.
If our strategy and roadmap are our “what,” and our cultural values are our “how,” then the opportunity to transform millions of lives around the world is our resounding “why.”
And as I look ahead to the next chapter of the Remitly journey, I am optimistic and energized for how we will continue to drive impact and transform lives around the world. We’re grateful to have you along on this incredible journey as we continue to solve hard problems, create impact, and continue our progress toward our ambitious vision to Transform Lives With Trusted Financial Services That Transcend Borders.
Today, as always, we’re just getting started,
Matt Oppenheimer
Co-founder and CEO, Remitly
1. Source: FXC Intelligence. 2. Remitly Fourth Quarter 2023 Earnings. 3. Disbursement speed reflects the time between when Remitly has the customer funds and when the
funds are successfully disbursed (e.g., completed or available for pickup)
