London-based Zepz is the latest to update the U.S. cross-border payments experience by introducing a debit card attached to an FDIC-insured bank account for its Sendwave remittance service.
Sendwave Pay, announced Tuesday, allows users to earn interest and spend through the account with an attached debit card, encouraging users to accumulate funds in the account, according to Zepz.
Piermont Bank, a New York City-based institution with $557 million of assets, is issuing the Visa debit card. Deposits held in the account will be insured up to $250,000, Zepz said.
The move comes as remittance providers look to differentiate their services in an increasingly competitive marketplace where usage costs are dropping. Mobile apps now surpass legacy methods for consumers regularly sending funds home, Visa found in a
In April, London-based Wise introduced the option for users of its cross-border remittance account to
The launch of Sendwave Pay, which targets the U.S.-to-Africa remittance corridor, marks the first neobank product for Zepz, which already offers mobile and online remittance services via its core Sendwave and WorldRemit products, according to a press release. WorldRemit
Users who initiate payments through a Sendwave Pay account may earn up to 0.51% interest monthly and qualify for up to 25% savings on transaction fees to Kenya, Ghana, Tanzania, Uganda, Nigeria and Liberia, according to Eric Huynh, product lead for Sendwave Pay.
While Zepz expects Sendwave Pay users will continue to maintain a traditional bank account, the new product enables them to earn interest on funds they accumulate and hold before they are sent, Huynh said.
"Recently, we've seen fintechs put an increased focus on providing their customer base with FDIC insurance to provide them with more security, and adding this feature to Sendwave also allows migrants to begin building wealth to make their money go further," Huynh said.
