Instant remittances are coming to Turkey thanks to a partnership between Azimo and United Payment

Sending money to Turkey can be a painful experience. High fees, terrible exchange rates and three-day delivery times leave many wondering whether flying to Istanbul with a suitcase full of cash is a better option. 

That ended today after Azimo, Europe’s leading digital money transfer service, announced the launch of an instant remittance service to Turkey. That’s thanks to a partnership with United Payment, Turkey’s leading payments services provider.

The new service will allow Azimo customers living in the UK, Europe, Canada, and Australia to send money to Turkey in a matter of seconds. Weekday transfers sent before 3pm GMT will be delivered instantly. Weekend or evening transfers will be delivered on the next working day. New customers will receive two fee-free transfers to try the service using Azimo’s award-winning website and mobile apps.

Turkey received $1 billion in global remittances in 2020, with half of the total coming from Germany. Nonetheless, remittance fees remain stubbornly high for a service that is often very slow. The World Bank claims that the average charge for a global remittance is 7%. Azimo usually charges less than 2%.

Turkey is a global leader in digital payments, with a young and technology-savvy population whose average age is just 31. More than 56% of Turkish residents have used a mobile banking app. 

“With a diaspora of nearly 7 million people, Turkey is a fantastic market for remittance providers. It is therefore stunning that Turkish remittances have remained slow and expensive for so long. Azimo is making instant transfers the standard for the cross-border payments industry – and this service is the latest step on that journey,” said Dora Ziambra, Azimo COO. 

“As United Payment, we have taken another big step towards our goal to become one of the most extensive cross-border payments service providers with our partnership with Azimo. Supporting the cross-border payment solutions with our infrastructure, we provide speed as a brand promise. Thanks to this partnership, people will have a quick alternative for cross-border transactions to Turkey rather than the old conventional methods.” said İlker Sözdinler, United Payment CEO