Azimo is a convenient and simple online money transfer service provider. It is powered by a sleek website and intuitively designed mobile applications to give its customers the freedom to send to 200+ countries around the world. Its transfers are quick and low-cost especially when sending money to South Africa, Nigeria and other African countries.
Customers who have used Azimo have praised it for the flexibility in payment methods from credit cards to debit cards to bank transfers. Also, the fact that you can send as little as $1 through the platform makes it easier for customers sending small amounts of money regularly to support their families back home. Apart from online money transfer services, Azimo also allows users to send talk time to their families and friends.
Customer support is a very critical ingredient in making an international money transfer. Therefore, the lack of phone support on Azimo and the limited availability of online customer service (Monday – Friday 9:00 – 18:00 UK time) makes it a little harder for customers to get help when they need it the most.
Considering the target market, Azimo has tried to regulate the costs of its transfers by modelling different fee structures and exchange rate margins depending on the countries to which customers are transferring money.
Transfer Fees– Azimo charges variable or fixed fees on its transfers. The key determinants as to how much you will pay are the transfer payment method, payout method and the countries involved. Typically, the fee settles in at between £1-10.
Exchange Rates– Like most money transfer providers, Azimo charges a margin above the mid-market rates or interbank rates. Its margin is anywhere between 1-3%. Compared to what banks charge on average, 5%, Azimo’s rate is clearly bank-beating. They allow their customers to lock in the rate for the duration of the transfer so that you know exactly how much the recipient will get.
Other Fees– Generally, Azimo has no hidden fees. The only fees you need to be careful about are the credit card fees. They can go up to 2.99% per transaction. However, if you use a local bank to pay and receive transfers, there shouldn’t be any charges.
While providers such as TransferWise and CurrencyFair do not charge any margin on their exchange rates, they push the needle on their transfer fees. Also, Azimo has a good grip on Africa remittance corridors, a disbursing network coverage that not many companies have.
If you’re just getting started with online money transfers, we’ve prepared a simple guide to help you find the fastest ways to send money abroad.
Azimo has a wide sending network coverage. That said, some routes are busier than others. The frequented routes for users of Azimo money transfer services are Nigeria, Poland, the Philippines, Bangladesh, and Thailand.
Sending to these countries from the UK takes anywhere between 1 to 2 days if you pay via a bank transfer. However, there could be delays on some routes because of verifications and other unforeseen events.
With the new Azimo Business product, the popular sending countries are the United Kingdom, France, Spain, and Germany. On the other hand, the popular receiving countries for the service are Pakistan, South Africa, Poland, Hong Kong, China and Singapore.
With a team of 130 employees, you can be assured that irrespective of the remittance corridor you fall in, you will get the support you need to make your transfer.
The simplicity of Azimo has endeared the company to a wider customer base. Coupled with the low fees and favourable rates, Azimo scores highly on many fronts. Here is what we think makes Azimo a great company.
Pros
Cons
Azimo allows for 5 types of transfers:
Bank Transfers
Through partnerships with major banks around the world, Azimo is able to deposit transfers directly into recipients’ bank accounts. For instance in Nigeria, Azimo has partnered with Diamond Bank, FirstBank, UBA and Zenith bank. In Poland, it has partnered with ING, Bank Zachodni WBK, mBank and Millennium bank. You can also use SWIFT and send directly to the bank in GBP, USD and EUR.
Cash Pickups
Azimo has 200,000+ cash pickup locations worldwide. It has entered into agreements with local partners and banks allowing them to offer cash pickup services on its behalf.
Mobile Wallet Deposits
In Kenya, Azimo has partnered with Mpesa as its mobile money payout channel. In other countries, more mobile e-wallets are linking up with Azimo to tap into its wide network coverage.
Mobile Airtime Top-up
In addition to mobile money deposits, you can also send an airtime top-up to a prepaid mobile number through the platform.
Home Delivery
In the Philippines, Azimo offers home delivery of cash within 24 hours. It is a secure and convenient method of sending small amounts of money.
On its website, Azimo says that it should take a day or two to deliver transfers. However, occasional delays may be caused by a number of factors such as the country you are sending to, the payout method and transfer payment method.
If you pay with a bank transfer in countries outside the UK, it can even take up to 3 days for your money to get to Azimo. Add that to the time the provider takes to transfer your money and delivers it to the recipient, it can take a little longer at times.
For faster delivery times, pay with a debit or credit card and then choose cash pickup. The recipient should receive the money the same day. Using the Azimo app, you can track your transfer to find out where it is at any time.
It fares really well when compared with other providers like TransferWise who only send to banks hence the inherent delays. Azimo is blazing fast in delivery times.
Azimo has flexible transfer payment methods. This gives you a wide range of choices and ensures you don’t get locked out. The following are the acceptable payment methods.
This money transfer provider can be used for personal and business cases. For business, Azimo launched Azimo Businessto help small and medium scale enterprises in the UK and Europe to send money to 189+ countries and at costs that undercut banks by 50%.
Business
Personal
If you have businesses in China, using the direct to payout method can give you some of the lowest transfer fees. However, if Azimo doesn’t fit your needs, we’ve created a list of top 10 money transfer companies to help you find the right money transfer provider.
Azimo is a Private Limited Company incorporated in the United Kingdom on 3 January 2012. Its company number is 07895399 and its official address is 9th Floor 107 Cheapside, London, United Kingdom, EC2V 6DN. Out of the four original founders Ricky Knox, Michael Kent, Marek Wawro, and Marta Krupinska, only Michael and Ricky are remaining the others left the company to pursue other interests.
Before changing its name to Azimo Ltd in 2012, the company was initially known as Ping Mobile Services Ltd. According to its latest annual report, Azimo Ltd has five wholly-owned subsidiaries with the sixth one (Azimo B.V) coming in 2019 hence not captured.
Azimo is authorised in the United Kingdom to operate under the Electronic Money Regulations 2011 by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA). Additionally, HMRC licenced the provider and it is regulating it as a Money Services Business. In the Netherlands, Azimo operates as Azimo B.V., authorized by De Nederlandsche Bank.
The regulations ensure the Azimo observes the laid down rules and policies with regard to running the company. One of the key operational rules is to separate clients’ funds from company finances and put them in a low-risk institution.
Azimo is a venture capital-backed company that has so far attracted funding from 19 investors who have given over USD 45 million. They include:
The level of confidence investors have in the company means a lot for the millions of customers who use Azimo regularly. The company accounts are audited by KPMG LLP, a reputable Big Four auditing firm. As of March 2018, the company had connected over 1 million customers on the platform.
Azimo systems features 24/7 built-in security features that continuously scan the platform for any unusual activities. Visa and MasterCard have verified the system which means only valid transactions are processed. The Azimo platform has been inspected by the “TUV Rheinland Group” and certified as secure for data handling and transmission.
The 90+ employees the company has on its payroll, rate it 4.5/5 on Glassdoor. Some of the reviews from the employees show just how Azimo has created an innovative space for employees to realise their potentials.
Using customer satisfaction algorithms that gather comments, reviews and mentions, Azimo was found to have 151 positive social media mentions against only 6 negative mentions. On Trustpilot, the provider has 30,917 reviews, 91% of which falls in the ‘Excellent’ and ‘Great’ rating categories while 4% fall in the ‘Poor’ and ‘Bad’ categories.
Those who rated the company highly cited the following experiences:
Those who rated the company as ‘Poor’ or ‘Bad’ gave the following reasons
In general, Azimo is a very easy-to-use service with email support even to non-customers. The FAQ section and help centre are packed with lots of information on the transfer service.
Getting started on Azimo is simple and straightforward. The steps are easy to follow and can be interpreted in 8 languages. Below is how to get started.
How to Send Money Using Azimo?
Step 1: Sign up for an account- it takes a few minutes to create an account on Azimo. You can sign up through the app, website, Facebook or your Google account.
Step 2: Identity Verification- You’ll need two documents, one proving identity and the other your address. You can provide your passport or a driver’s licence and utility bill. Once verified, you are ready to initiate the transfer.
Step 3: Add recipient -When you log in, you’ll find a minimal interface where you can easily add your recipient.
Step 4: Choose the destination, currency, and delivery method. The payout method will vary depending on the country you’ve chosen.
Step 5: Formalize the exchange rate by indicating the amount you are sending or the amount you want the recipient to get.
Step 6: Once you’ve confirmed the details, pay for your transfer and send it. Remember you can always track the transfer through the website or the Azimo app.
How to Receive Money Using Azimo?
If the delivery method selected is a direct bank deposit or mobile e-wallet deposit, the recipient doesn’t have to do anything. However, for home deliveries or cash pickups, you’ll need the following information or documents.
Yes, Azimo has a mobile app available as a free download on both Google Play and Apple Store. There is so much you can do with the mobile application such as :
On Android, the app has surpassed the 500,000 download mark. It has been reviewed by 15,000+ users giving it an average rating of 4.5. Anyone can download the app, it has no country restrictions.
If for whatever reason you need to cancel your transfer, get in touch with the customer support immediately. Transfers that are indicated as completed may not be possible to cancel or recall. The best defence is to be careful at all times and confirm that you have the right details before you hit the ‘Send’ tab.
50 /50
Sending money to Philippines a couple of times. I’ve just credit card so the transfer should been at the receivers account within an hour. Succeeded within those promises twice I think. But when I have sent some bigger amounts and still.being promised that it will take a few hours it has taken days to complete. Support is just sorry and really can’t explain why it’s like a lottery when the money will arrive.
They are ok but not can’t hold their tranfertimes.
And don’t get me started if something goes wrong and u need to refund it to your account. First time I had to contact my own bank here to cancel the reclaim the money back.
John
Been waiting for refund since 6 November and money taken from bank account on 16 November keep mailing but only preprinted mail that 24 hour then they do something to help no help at all
I have been waiting 2 weeks for my money refund but no word from them I do not recommend azimo do not use them
Hi,
Is it possible to send GBP from UK to Serbia, serbian bank account set for GBP currency or it must have to be converted to euro and euro account? Thank you
I tried to send money to Nigeria but I can’t find uba bank there
Hello, I transferred money to South Africa since 7th August 2020 up till now the money hasn’t been delivered. Can you assist please
I made a transfer to Nigeria 31/07/20
It is now 05/08/20 & the status says still in process
I have messaged & emailed Azimo customer support but have had no response
I’m been so restless over the money I have sent since yesterday afternoon ,after asking me to provide the source of income which I did but still know response from the company
Hi Arna,
Please contact support here -> https://support.azimo.com
They will be available to help you with this transfer issue.
Thank you,
Jonathan
Hi my name arna sary .my husband ftom germamy send money via azimo .i have no 13 digit and olso have pin nomber and the email say must go to the post office in jakarta indonesia , but the post office in jakarta say sory we dont know azimo this the first time we hear like this .this already most 10 days .now pls to help me how to take the money
I feel their rate is usually lower than others. I had a transaction yesterday sending money to Nigeria. Others gave 471 Naira to a gbp while azimo have 454 though transfer charges for others are higher than £1.5 that azimo charges but one is still better off using azimo competitors because you get more value to your pounds. Azimo needs to do something about this for continuous patronage. Though for now will still use azimo because of speed and security but you never know what can happen tomorrow.