Sendwave

0 standards supported

Overview

Sendwave is a mobile-first, low/zero-fee remittance app specializing in fast transfers from the diaspora to Africa and Asia, now operated by [[zepz]] Group [1, 2]. Founded in 2014 (originally as Sendwave/Wave, distinct from the West-African mobile-money company [[wave-money-africa]]), it built a reputation for near-instant, app-only transfers into mobile-money wallets. WorldRemit acquired Sendwave in 2020 for ~$500M, and it now operates as a sibling consumer brand to [[worldremit]] under Zepz [2].

History

2014 — Founded as Sendwave (then "Wave") [1] by Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk; focused on cheap, instant transfers to Kenya, Ghana, Nigeria, Tanzania and beyond.

2017-2019 — Mobile-money corridor growth [1]: Deep integration with M-Pesa, MTN MoMo and other African mobile-money networks.

2020 — Acquired by WorldRemit (~$500M) [2]: Becomes part of the group that rebrands to Zepz in 2021; the West-African mobile-money sibling spins out as Wave (now [[wave-money-africa]]).

2021-2025 — Operates within Zepz [2]: Sendwave retained as a low-fee, mobile-first brand alongside WorldRemit.

Ownership & operator

Operating entity: Zepz Group (London) — Sendwave is a consumer brand of Zepz.

Founders: Drew Durbin and Lincoln Quirk (who also founded the West-African mobile-money company Wave).

Regulators:

United States: FinCEN MSB + state money-transmitter licenses (via Zepz).
United Kingdom: FCA authorisation (via Zepz).
Other markets: per-country financial regulators.

Technical integration

Sendwave is an app-only digital remittance [1]:

Layer	Description
Channels	Sendwave app (iOS + Android) — mobile only
Identifiers	Recipient phone number (mobile money) + bank account
Funding	Sender debit/credit card, bank transfer
Payout rails	Mobile money (M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, Airtel, Orange) + bank deposit
Focus	Low/zero-fee corridors into Africa and Asia

Implementations & partners

Operator: Zepz Group (sibling brand to [[worldremit]]).

Payout partners: M-Pesa (Safaricom), MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, Orange Money and banks across Africa/Asia.

Competitors: [[taptap-send]], [[remitly-app]], [[worldremit]], [[western-union]], [[moneygram]], Wave.

Status

Active, low-fee diaspora remittance brand under Zepz [1, 2]:

Zepz Group (London) — sibling to WorldRemit.
Mobile-first, low/zero-fee corridors into Africa/Asia.
Acquired by WorldRemit in 2020 for ~$500M.

Sources

Source

Biography extracted from sendwave.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.