InstaReM Singapore Review: Fees, rates and transfer time

If you’re making an international payment you’ll want to find the best service for your needs, based on cost, safety and convenience.

Start your research right here with our InstaReM review looking at:

• The fees for InstaReM international payments
• The currencies supported
• Fees and limits you need to know about when using InstaReM Singapore

We’ll also highlight an alternative currency and international payment service as a comparison - Wise.

With Wise you can send money to over 60 different countries using the mid-market exchange rate. You only pay a low fee, which can work out much cheaper than using a bank or alternative provider.

Your Wise Borderless Account
Manage +40 currencies including SGD Local bank details for USD, EUR, GBP, AUD and NZD Your Wise Platinum Debit Card Mastercard It always uses the mid market rate - the real exchange rate for your international money transfers

What are the fees for an international money transfer with InstaReM Singapore?

InstaReM arrange international payments which use the currency exchange rate you find on Reuters. This is known as the mid-market rate.

With InstaReM you’ll pay a transaction fee which is based on the currency you’re sending, and how you choose to arrange the payment. You’ll be able to model the payment you wish to make to see the costs, which are typically between 0.25% and 1% of the value of the transfer.¹

To give an idea of the fees you’ll pay, let’s look at a couple of examples.²

What are the currencies that InstaReM supports?

InstaReM allows customers to send money to over 50 different countries. You can choose to send money to any of the following destinations:

Argentina, Australia, Austria, Bangladesh, Belgium, Bulgaria, Canada, Chile, China, Colombia, Croatia, Cyprus, Czech Republic, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hong Kong, Hungary, India, Indonesia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Lithuania, Luxembourg, Malaysia, Malta, Mexico, Monaco, Nepal, Netherlands, Norway, Peru, Philippines, Poland, Portugal, Romania, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, South Korea, Spain, Sri Lanka, Sweden, Thailand, Vietnam, United Kingdom, USA³

If you don’t find what you’re looking for - or if you simply want to compare the prices offered by InstaReM, check out the coverage as well as the great low fees from Wise. You can send money to over 60 different countries, including popular payment routes not covered by InstaRem such as New Zealand, South Africa and Brazil. All payments are made using the mid-market exchange rate and with just a low transparent fee to pay.

Another advantage of using Wise is the debit card that can come along with the borderless account. You can order your Wise Platinum debit Mastercard today and hold and convert over 40 currencies, spend in any currency worldwide, receive money for free and withdraw money from the ATMs also for free.

What is the InstaReM exchange rate?

InstaReM states that the exchange rate used for currency conversion is the mid-market rate for the currency pairing, which you’ll find on Reuters. You can check this out with a simple google search for the currency you wish to send.

It’s worth looking at the exchange rate of any international payment provider you might consider using, to see if a margin has been added. Banks and some payment services usually take the mid-market rate and add a markup, which they can then keep for themselves as profit.

You’ll find this especially when services claim to offer fee free or zero commission transfers.

This is a common practise but it makes it hard to see the real cost of your transfer and can ultimately mean that you pay more than you expect for your cross border payment.

How does InstaReM work?

InstaReM payments are arranged online, and paid directly to your recipient’s account.

To get started you’ll need to create an InstaReM account, which you can do using your Google or Facebook log in details. Then select the payment you wish to make, and review the costs. It’s helpful to know that you must pay for the transfer from your own bank account - you can’t use a third party account or a credit card to fund the payment.

You’ll need to enter the account details for your recipient before the payment can be processed, and you’ll get an indication of the InstaReM transfer time when you set up your transfer.

At this point you have to make your payment to InstaReM, following the instructions on screen. You’re advised to make the payment to InstaReM within 24 hours, to guarantee the exchange rate. If the transfer doesn’t reach InstaReM within 72 hours, the transaction will be cancelled.

If you want to fund a transfer using your credit card, you can consider using Wise, which offers the possibility to pay from a bank account, debit or credit card.

Are there any limits to the amount you can transfer?

There are limits to the transfers you can make with InstaReM which are set according to the currency you wish to use, and where you’re sending money to.

The limits applied vary widely depending on the local legislation in the country you’re sending money to, as well as InstaReM policy. We’ve highlighted a few examples below - and you can find the full details for all currency routes on the InstaReM website.⁴

There are plenty of reasons you might need to make an international transfer. But whatever the purpose of your payment, you don’t want to pay more than you have to in admin and associated fees. Do some research to find out how much your specific transfer will cost you with different providers to make sure you get the best deal. Take a look at Wise, and see if you can save.

Sources used in the article:

1. How much does InstaReM charge? (FAQ section, bottom of the page)
2. InstaRem costs examples using their calculator.
3. Countries you can send money to using InstaReM.
4. Money transfer limits with InstaReM.