Money transfer service WorldRemit has partnered with Android Pay for international person-to-person (P2P) payments. With this, Android Pay will be a payment option on WorldRemit's app and recipients using the app can withdraw cash or deposit money in banks or mobile money accounts or top up mobile accounts. "By connecting directly with Android Pay, WorldRemit customers can transfer money instantly across continents in just 5 taps - without entering credit card or 3DS details," the company said in a statement. WorldRemit says that its users make around 600,000 transactions every month, sending from over 50 countries to more than 140 destinations. WorldRemit was started in 2010 by Ismail Ahmed, a former compliance advisor to the United Nations Development Programme. It has raised nearly $150 million in equity funding from venture firms including Accel and TCV and another $45 million in debt financing, as indicated by CrunchBase. The company makes money by charging a basic handling fee and a small markup on foreign exchange rates. This typically undercut rates charged by traditional, agent-based transfer firms like Western Union and MoneyGram, as indicated by this Reuters report. Android Pay has always been used for P2P payments, in-app purchases and at retail stores for contactless payments in the United States, but TechCrunch notes that this is the first the first partnership for international payments. Note that in April, Google and PayPal inked an agreement where Paypal accounts can be used as a checkout option on Android Pay. The feature will be available to users in the…
