Daniel & Shawn dive into Remitly, the digital remittance platform aiming to disrupt a $2 trillion global market. After years of prioritizing customer acquisition and corridor expansion over profits, Remitly is now approaching a critical inflection point, one where scale, margin leverage, and cash generation could unlock a new phase of investor confidence. But there are risks as well: crypto-native challengers, regulatory uncertainty, and broader concerns about the remittance industry all raise the question of whether the upside is worth the risk.
Here, they unpack Remitly’s moat, including its direct payout network, risk engine, and customer trust, and assess whether these factors are enough to fend off cheaper, faster payment rails, such as stablecoins. They walk through the company’s unit economics and what the valuation model implies under both steady-state and high-growth scenarios. Along the way, they compare Remitly’s customer lock-in strategy to Booking.com, examine the remittance corridor dynamics in India, the Philippines, and Latin America, and debate whether this is a misunderstood fintech with enduring staying power or a product ripe for crypto disruption.
IN THIS EPISODE, YOU’LL LEARN
00:00 – Intro
01:08 – How the remittance market works
01:50 – Why Western Union struggles to compete with Remitly
02:16 – Why and how Remitly was founded
04:48 – What risks Remitly faces
05:01 – How stablecoins could disrupt the remittance industry
11:34 – What competitive advantages Remitly has
17:16 – What digital-first companies compete with Remitly
24:37 – Why scale is everything in the payments sector
27:56 – Whether Remitly is attractively valued at its current levels
29:27 – Whether Shawn & Daniel add RELY to The Intrinsic Value Portfolio
*Disclaimer: Slight timestamp discrepancies may occur due to podcast platform differences.
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when you had all this stuff was it paid off? Because otherwise you have to work to pay those things off that don't make you happy.
awsome episode
great episode
Great podcast but these pre pandemic podcasts are kind of useless now. Most of Q1 2020 info is completely irrelevant now. It's a completely different world and market. Great podcast still but would have been a lot more useful at the end of February when it was recorded.
Great podcast. I like how it's timeless. some other podcasts are so current that the advice is only good for a few days. The info on this podcast is useful for years, not just the next 2 trading days. Thanks for the info Robert. love the real estate podcast as well
Great show! It's very relatable for Millennials like me. Looking forward to more guests and inspiring stories :)