Wallets/zepz
Zepz
0 standards supported
Overview
Zepz is a UK-headquartered digital cross-border remittance group, the parent company of the consumer brands [[worldremit]] and Sendwave [1, 2]. Originally founded as WorldRemit in 2010 by Ismail Ahmed, the group rebranded its corporate entity to Zepz in 2021 after acquiring Sendwave, while keeping both customer-facing brands. Zepz moves money digitally from migrants in higher-income countries to recipients across Africa, Asia, Latin America and beyond — primarily into bank accounts, mobile money wallets and cash pickup [1].
History
2010 — WorldRemit founded [1] in London by Ismail Ahmed, a Somali-British former UN remittance adviser.
2010-2019 — Digital-first remittance growth [1]: WorldRemit builds an app/web-based alternative to cash-agent incumbents, serving 150+ countries.
2020 — Acquires Sendwave [2]: WorldRemit acquires Africa-focused, low-fee mobile remittance app Sendwave for ~$500M.
2021 — Corporate rebrand to Zepz [2]: The holding company becomes Zepz, operating WorldRemit and Sendwave as distinct consumer brands; raises a $292M round at a >$5B valuation (Accel, TCV, Leapfrog, others).
2022-2025 — Consolidation + cost discipline [1]: Rounds of restructuring amid fintech downturn while continuing to grow remittance volumes across two brands.
Ownership & operator
Operating entity: Zepz Group (London, UK) — holding company for WorldRemit and Sendwave.
Founder: Ismail Ahmed (WorldRemit founder).
Major investors: Accel, TCV, Leapfrog Investments, Technology Crossover Ventures, Farallon Capital, others.
Regulators:
- United Kingdom: FCA (authorised payment institution / e-money).
- United States: FinCEN MSB + state money-transmitter licenses.
- Other markets: per-country financial regulators.
Technical integration
Zepz operates app/web digital remittance across two brands [1]:
| Layer | Description |
|---|---|
| Channels | WorldRemit + Sendwave apps (iOS + Android) + web |
| Identifiers | Email + phone number + recipient bank account + card number |
| Funding | Sender debit/credit card, bank transfer |
| Payout rails | Recipient bank deposit, mobile money (M-Pesa, MTN MoMo, Airtel, etc.), cash pickup |
| Coverage | Send from ~50 countries to 130+ receive markets |
Implementations & partners
Operator: Zepz Group.
Consumer brands: [[worldremit]] (broad corridor coverage), Sendwave (Africa-focused, low/zero fee, mobile-first).
Payout partners: M-Pesa (Safaricom), MTN MoMo, Airtel Money, Orange Money, banks and cash-pickup networks across Africa/Asia/LatAm.
Competitors: [[remitly-app]], [[western-union]], [[moneygram]], [[ria-money-transfer]], [[xoom]], Wise, [[taptap-send]].
Status
Active, dual-brand digital remittance group [1, 2]:
- Zepz Group (London) — parent of WorldRemit + Sendwave.
-
$5B peak valuation (2021); ~20M customers served across brands.
- Founder Ismail Ahmed; backed by Accel, TCV, Leapfrog.
Sources
Source
Biography extracted from zepz.md. See matrix.md for standards-support matrix if present.