Remitly faces criticism over delayed transfer

A Lagos-based lawyer has criticized Remitly for failing to resolve a delayed N300,771 transfer sent to his Access Bank account by his elder brother on June 6.

The lawyer, who wishes to remain anonymous, shared his frustration with FIJ, explaining that his US-based brother initiated the transfer earlier this month, expecting it to be completed promptly.

“My brother sent the equivalent of N300,771 directly to my Access Bank account, and I was waiting for the payment. When I did not receive it the next day, I informed him,” the lawyer recounted.

Despite numerous efforts to resolve the issue, including providing bank statements, visiting the bank, and contacting customer support, the funds have yet to be credited to his account.

“The bank said we would have to involve the originating source of the funds, which is Remitly. I called my brother. We’ve been on it since then, and up till now, we have not seen anything. And they did not reverse the money,” the lawyer explained.

The lawyer’s brother, speaking to FIJ, confirmed multiple attempts to resolve the issue with both Remitly and Access Bank.

“Each time, they would say something reassuring, such as ‘We are working on it, we are going to resolve this,’ etc. At one point, Remitly told me to send them my brother’s bank statement, which I did. At another point, they claimed that Access Bank had sent them proof of delivery,” he said.

In response to FIJ’s inquiry concerning the delayed transfer, Remitly cited security reasons for not providing transaction information to individuals not associated with the account.

Gerald, a Remitly agent, suggested that the account holder needed to reach out for further verification.

“We would be happy to verify all the information regarding the transaction and what happened to the funds. However, we do not have access to the account or the transaction because you are not the person in charge of the account,” Gerald stated.

Access Bank, for its part, assured FIJ that their team was working on resolving the complaint.