Remitly Introduces Passbook, a Neobank

The target audience is the 44 million immigrants living in the U.S.

Galileo client Remitly today launched Passbook, a neobank created especially to meet the specific needs of immigrants living in the U.S. Built by Remitly and powered by Galileo, Passbook eliminates the barriers and complexity of opening bank accounts by removing fees, enabling easy and secure international use, and offering new international money transfer benefits.

Seattle-based Remitly is the largest independent digital remittance company in North America. Galileo, headquartered in Salt Lake City with additional offices in New York, San Francisco and Mexico City, is the API standard for financial technology. In addition to Remitly’s Passbook, Galileo powers leading neobanks in the U.S., Canada and, soon, Mexico.

“Passbook was born from countless hours listening to customers’ experiences navigating financial services not built for them,” said Matt Oppenheimer, Remitly CEO and co-founder. “Our team has a unique ability to deliver industry-changing products for immigrants. We’re going to change banking like we changed remittances.”

“Remitly has transformed remittances, and with Passbook it will transform banking access for immigrants, especially those who must use alternative documentation to verify their identity to qualify for an account,” added Galileo CEO Clay Wilkes. “We are proud to provide the powerful platform and APIs to drive this newest neobank.”

There are over 44 million first-generation adult immigrants in the U.S., representing more than 1 in every 6 workers. Immigrants earn over $1.3 trillion in wages annually and have over $900 billion in spending power. Key features of Passport to service this population include:

• Eliminating barriers to access. To meet KYC requirements, Passbook accepts forms of identification common to immigrants, such as an ITIN, passport and other foreign government-issued IDs like the Matricula Consular ID.  

• No borders. Each Passport account includes a Visa® debit card that can be used everywhere Visa debit cards are accepted globally, including Visa’s global ATM network in more than 200 countries and territories. 

• No account fees. There are no monthly fees, no minimum balances required, no overdraft fees and no foreign transaction fees. In addition, Passport offers access to surcharge-free ATMs and provides special pricing when customers use Remitly to transfer money internationally.

• Secure. Deposits are insured by the FDIC up to $250,000 per depositor, through Sunrise Banks N.A., Member FDIC. 

• Personalization. Customers can customize their Passbook Visa debit cards with the national flag of their choice.

Last summer, Remitly closed a $135 million round to take its money transfer services into a wider range of financial products.

To learn more about Passbook, visit https://passbook.app/.