Instarem: Send & spend abroad Ratings and Reviews

Minimalist and Intuitive UI, super fast process

Instarem has been my first and only overseas money transfer service provider. Right from the beginning when I signed up with them, everything has gone without a single issue. The KYC process was smooth thanks to Josh, and once you sign up and are ready to go, the money transfer process is such a breeze. The new app has made things even more easier. You are in and out literally within a minute - try clocking yourself to believe this. Even the customer service team ensured changes in profile (phone number and address change) were catered to efficiently. Thoroughly satisfied with the overall experience.

Never use their service!!

Extremely disappointed with their service. They do not accept money directly on their website or app, instead on the payment page they will show you their bank name and account details and you got to manually open your bank’s online account and add them as a payee and then make the payment. The trouble doesnt end here but, even on the 4th day of my transaction, their website showed the transaction status as Awaiting Payment. Their customer support is for name sake and I have followed up with them multiple times to check on the status, their response was nothing but to share the screenshots of transaction details with my name, account name, account number, transaction id and what not? I had to send 3 separate screenshots as my bank doesn't allow me to get all these info into one statement unless I wait 20 more days to get the consolidated statement by month end. Tried my best to make them understand but they did not help. I had only one option left to ask for the refund and even to get the money back in my account, they demanded for additional bank statement. What an awful experience I had and never would want to go through that trauma again. I do not recommend their service to anyone to experience the nightmare by giving your hard earned money to them

Poor service, not the best FX rates in the market, slow in crediting topup funds

I was previously quite impressed with the Amaze card due to convenience it provides - however after a couple of uses overseas I realised the rates got worse each time (1-2 big figure from screen rate) - so worse than going to an actual money changer.

Additionally, I topped up the Amaze wallet for online purchases during Black Friday sales weekend, however the cash only got credited 2 days later.. which totally defeated the purpose of the top up. Hence, I linked Amaze to another credit card for the overseas purchase (as you can imagine, Black Friday sales only last for that weekend) - and was advised that they’ll be able to refund the topped up amount to the wallet. Unfortunately, they’re unable to do the refund and I’ve got some idle cash sitting on the wallet. The app for communication is also incredibly slow and response is poor.

Long story short - there are better travel cards out there, would avoid this.

Now: Unreliable remit process. Used to be: Remit money to Indonesia in less than 5 minutes

Changing my review after bad experience on subsequent remittance. Inconsistent remit processing to the exact same account. Which is questionable for an online process. Been couple of days of uncompleted remit process without any meaningful status update. It’s just strange to send to the exact same account which took less than 5 minutes on the first remittance now took 2 days and counting... still waiting

Verdict: not recommended anymore as it is not consistent

Old review: Awesomely easy and fast way to remit money to Indonesia with the best currency rate out there. At first I was really skeptical. Especially after reading all the 1 star comments. But in easy few steps (add recipient, initiate remit including adding coupon for discounts, and make local transfer), in less than 5 minutes after I made the local transfer I received the confirmation email of successful delivery. And confirmed that the money indeed has been transferred to the Indonesian bank account.

Developer Response ,

Hi, We apologize for the experience you had using InstaReM. Please share your registered ID and contact details and we will look into this on priority. As you know InstaReM is a regulated service provider and every transaction is reviewed for smooth processing.

Amazed by Amazed

Tried to seek help from live chat and I really gave up! Replies was very slow, using template answer and keep asking if I can see the message. None of the questions asked was answered 😂. There is also no contact number to call for emergency cases. A few months back I have also requested for Amazed card. The card was activated but was not able to use for contactless payment. I reported the issue to amaze and tried about 4 times to finally get it working after amaze did the necessary changes at their end. Updates: my Citibank card linked to amazed was charged without my authorisation. When asked amazed, they asked me to check with merchant and they did nothing else. There are also no options to document the logs conversations with the amazed Helpdesk in case of dispute. I am truly Amazed by Amazed. I strongly recommend NOT to link your credit card with Amazed.

Getting a refund is a nightmare

I called 4-5x to get a refund for a failed transaction. I got a call from the customer support after 5 days that the receiving bank has verified the account is closed and will return the money to I-remit. The I-remit representative asked if I wanted a refund or reprocess the transaction and I said I wanted a refund, he said he will send me an email on that day. 2 days later there’s no email so I called I-remit again and the representative said they are still verifying with the receiving bank. I told him I already received a call and that I-remit should be processing the refund. He kept on saying that they are still verifying with the receiving bank and they will send me an email. Another 2 days later, still no email and still no refund. Yes I agree doing transaction is smooth but getting your money back is a nightmare. Failed bank to bank transfer only needs 2-3 days for processing of refund.

Seamless experience.. Recommended!

I’ve sent money twice from Singapore to India using Instarem and both times the money has reached my account the very same day (in the evening). The conversion rate was great, there were no deductions along the way and the credit to my account was exactly the converted amount that was shown to me on the confirmation screen. I had to provide source of funds (the first time) as the amount was relatively larger. I guess that much due diligence is expected (from even big banks) to make subsequent transactions straightforward and the customer service executive was prompt & courteous :)

Terrible and slow money transfer app.

For those who are used to swift money remittance in this digital banking era, give this app a wide berth. I have used others before and typical checking of funds takes within an hour or at most a few hours. It has been more then half a day since I transferred funds to make an international money remittance and they are still checking for to see if they have received my money. Despite already providing proof of payment they are unable to confirm that my funds are received. While in the midst of awaiting their confirmation, I can advice other users who are intending to use this app to consider other options. Definitely considering submitting a complaint to the relevant financial institution governing authorities in my country if this isn’t resolved soon as it’s sensitive money we are talking about.

Developer Response ,

Dear Client, we sincerely regret the inconvenience caused and this is not the experience we would want our users to have with us. We request you to share your Instarem CIN or the transaction ID for further assistance. Thank you for your co-operation and understanding.

Excellent service and something more.

Just recently I re-installed the app and did KYC. While doing verification, I came across an issue and tried the chat support at night 11 PM. Surprisingly I was answered by a human and very good support experience it was. Next day I did a transfer and amount was transferred in 10 mins. I regret not using the service all these years. Talking about the app, the UI is minimal and get the works done. If you are expat, this is the only App you need for your remittance purposes.

Changed Review - Surprisingly good!

My first experience was horrible to say the least. It was a nightmare. However, given the credibility InstaReM had acquired in the Fintech space, I’ve decided to give another shot. I’m glad that I did, as it was a breeze of an experience. I’ve used twice since my bad experience and both were just amazingly smooth. Few things to get it right, as the way information is given during the journey still remain to be poor. For an example, transferring account to be under the same name is no where specified other than FAQ. Plus, Transaction Ref to be added when paying using Pay Now is far too small to see. But underneath process is oiled. Just need these to get fixed.