InstaReM Review: Quickly understand all the important facts

Need to know all about InstaReM in a quick snapshot or in depth review? We have you covered with our easy to read InstaReM review.

InstaReM is the new kid on the foreign exchange block. Although not as popular as the likes of Wise (formerly known as TransferWise) or Revolut just yet, they are fast proving themselves as a great option for sending money internationally.

This InstaReM review covers the below:

Who is InstaReM
InstaReM fees & exchange rates
Where can I send or receive money
Is InstaReM safe?
InstaReM app review
How fast is InstaReM
How do I send money overseas
Ways to pay
Minimum and maximum limits
Loyalty points
Customer service and contact details

Combined with speed, InstaReM can also offer competitive rates to a long list of countries. It has an established presence across many markets worldwide, including the US, UK, Europe and Asia and offers customers a simple way to transfer their money and/or pay people in different currencies and countries simultaneously. According to a World Bank report, InstaReM is the most cost effective platform to transfer money to and from Australia and Singapore.

If you are an individual looking to transfer money then you can do so very easily by creating an individual account and following the steps.

InstaReM support international payments for small businesses, too. Their MassPay platform was introduced to help take the hassle out of small businesses who need to pay people in different currencies and countries, so if you are a small business owner or perhaps thinking of this for the future, then InstaReM is a good option to explore.

In October 2019, InstaReM evolved to become part of Nium, a larger global digital platform.

InstaReM has competitively low rates and transfer fees. Sourcing their exchange rates from Reuters, InstaReM offers a zero-margin FX rate on money transfers with certain currencies. This means that no mark-up to the exchange rate is applied, so you get the best rate possible for your chosen currency exchange.

Instead, InstaReM charges a percentage transfer fee ranging anywhere between 0.25% - 1.00% depending on the countries you're sending to and from and your method of payment. You can see this when organising your international money transfer.

Importantly to note, this fee is sometimes removed if you're transferring over a particular amount or transferring within certain currency routes, making larger transactions more cost-effective for you as the customer.

Want to explore other great deals for sending money overseas? Try our handy comparison tool.

InstaReM can be trusted and is a safe option to exchange your money.

InstaReM is a licensed service provider globally and is fully regulated in multiple countries. You can see the full list of licenses here. The licensed provider for Europe and the UK is the Lietuvos Bankas (Bank of Lithuania).

It also follows the regulations of the Hong Kong Customs Excise Department, the Monetary Authority of Singapore, the Financial Transactions and Reports Analysis Centre in Canada and ASIC in Australia.

Finally, it has a very good rating of 4.4 out of 5 stars on TrustPilot.

InstaReM is unique in its global banking network and because of this, they can complete your money transfer in 1-2 business days. This beats most other money transfer services and is the fastest option that maintains low, competitive exchange rates. Furthermore it also beats banks, who use the SWIFT network, by a long way.

Note: Transfer times are always marketed on websites and we'd like to remind you that this is an estimate. Transferring money is always dependent on other factors such as where the money is going, how much is being sent and how fast the receiving bank can process the transfer.

Transferring money overseas with InstaReM is a simple 4 step process. Simply go onto the website and choose Sign Up, and follow the steps laid out briefly below.

Step 1 - Register to open an account
You'll need to set up an account. To do this, choose an Individual or Business account to open to transfer money.

Step 2 - Complete personal details
When registering, you will need to input some personal details about yourself, including:

Name
Email
Date of birth
ID - Passport or Driver’s License
Proof of address
Employment status

Step 3 - ID verification

Your InstaReM account will be approved in 36 hours after you have entered and uploaded the above details. Following approval, you can begin to send money internationally.

Step 4 - Setting up your international money transfer

Use your InstaReM login to sign into your InstaReM account and enter the following details:

Your bank details
The overseas bank details
How much you wish to send
How much you wish your recipient to receive
Your currency route e.g. GBP-AUD
How to you wish to pay e.g. debit card, bank transfer, PoLi

Note: Bank transfers always take longer, so if you are looking to utilise InstaReM's fast transfer process, we recommend you use your debit card.

You will then approve all of the details before you submit your InstaReM transfer, including:

Exchange rate
Transfer fee
How much you are being charged
How much your recipient is getting
Estimate time to complete transfer

InstaReM's average time to complete money transfers are 1 - 2 business days depending on the choice of currency and time of transfer.

Press submit and your transfer has officially started!

When sending money with any transfer provider, it's important you understand what restrictions are in place such as a minimum or maximum transfer amount or the different methods of payment available to you and to your recipient.

What different payment methods does InstaReM support?

You have various methods of payment when organising your transfer with InstaReM.

You can organise your transfer using:

Electronic Funds Transfer (EFT), otherwise known as a bank transfer or wire transfer (open to everyone globally)
ACH Pull Method (US only). A payment transfer that goes through the Automated Clearing House Network
POLi (Australia only)
Debit Card (EU only)
FPX (Malaysia only)

InstaReM does not support money transfers with credit cards.

Generally, minimum transfer amounts are applied to most supported currencies with InstaReM and differ for individual and business accounts. Some popular currencies have Individual limits such as:

UK and Europe: £200/€200
US and Canada: $50
Australia: $200

On the other hand, maximum transfer amounts are only applied to a few currencies with most other supported currencies not having a maximum transfer amount. The main currencies this applies to are:

US: $1500. Note, this is only applied when you choose to transfer via ACH Pull Method. There is no limit applied to a bank/wire transfer.
Malaysia: MYR 30,000
India: $5000 USD
Canada: $3000 per day

Read here for the full list of money transfer restrictions, both for the outward and inward flow of remittance.

If you are looking to make a larger transfer, specialist providers like Wise money transfer and OFX could be good alternatives. You can check our Wise vs Instarem comparison to find out more.

We’ve all been there when something goes wrong and there is no way to contact someone on customer service. It’s annoying, particularly when it involves your money.

Good news is, InstaReM customer service is available 24/7 and has a number of offices, phone numbers and an email service.

InstaReM US Office Address
90 Washington Valley Road, Bedminster, NJ, 07921
Tel: 1 888-409-3307

InstaReM UK Office Address
33 Queen Street, London, EC4R 1BR

Email - support@instarem.com

Read here for a more detailed customer support list.