Overview
Azimo is an online remittance platform for sending money abroad. You can choose the currency and transfer method you want. Azimo is authorized by the FCA (Financial Conduct Authority), a financial regulatory body in the UK. Azimo aims to provide affordable services that are equally accessible to everyone around the world.
The company uses technology to democratize financial services. The company takes a user-centric approach to accelerate global payments. Azima has a user-friendly interface for customers to get quick access.
Azimo has its headquarters in London and allows users to make transactions to over 200 countries in more than 60 currencies. The network holds strong across Africa, Asia, Europe, the Americas, and the Pacific.
Company Profile
Here is a brief overview of Azimo’s company profile.
| Company Name | Azimo |
| Website | Azimo.com |
| Founded | January 2012 |
| Founder | Michael Kent |
| Key People | Michael Kent – Executive Chairman, Richard Ambrose – Chief Executive Officer, Tatiana Okhotina – Chief Financial Officer, Ilona Sapieżko – Chief Human Resources Officer, Dora Ziambra – Chief Operating Officer, Rory Newton – Chief Product and Technology Officer |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam, Netherlands |
| Company Type | Private Company |
| Revenue | $33M per year |
| Key Competitors | WorldRemit, Wise, Small World Financial Services and ClearBank |
What is Azimo? A Brief History
Azimo provides an online platform for customers to get a better experience while transferring money around the world. You can send money either to a bank account or to the different cash pick-up points across the globe.
Azimo is easily accessible through the phone, tablet, or desktop. You can access Azimo even through social media apps and send transactions to countries securely and efficiently. All you need is an interconnected device.
The company was established in January 2012 and provided secure payments to the customers. An updated version of Azimo was launched in 2016 with additional in-app chat and biometric security functions.
Until early 2016, Azimo had gained 31 million dollars in funding from Series A and B. The investors included
- Frog Capital
- Greycroft
- MCI
- TechVentures
- e.ventures
- Quona capital
Later in 2016, Azimo got investment from a Japanese e-commerce firm called Rakuten. The investment is aimed at expanding the company’s network into Asia.
Following the Brexit in 2020, Azimo moved to the Netherlands.
How Does Azimo Work and What Does it offer?
Here is how Azimo works.
How to register with Azimo?
Registration with Azimo is not a complicated process in any way.
You can register for your free account and send your transactions. For registration with Azimo, the process is quite straightforward, requiring only a few minutes. All you need to do is to go to the official website and download the Azimo app. The process would require the following information.
- Your full name is identical to the one mentioned in your ID
- Email address
- Enter a password you wish to set for your account
Your details will be verified, after which you will receive a confirmation message. You are then ready to make your first transaction. The best part is that your first two transactions would be free of cost.
How to check exchange rates with Azimo?
There are two ways to check the exchange rates with Azimo. Go to their official website and click on “Where are you sending money to?” and there, you will get a drop-down menu. Choose the destination, and the page will direct you to the respective country page, where you will see the current exchange rate.
You will notice that Azimo will show the fair exchange rates that correspond to the mid-market exchange rates. Another way to check the exchange rates at Azimo is by installing and using the Azimo app.
How to pay for your Azimo transfer?
First, you need to create a recipient on the Azimo website and select the recipient country from the drop-down menu. Also, choose the currency in which your recipient will receive the cash.
Once you are done with creating your recipient, now you got to pay for your Azimo transfer. The medium can be bank transfer, credit card, or debit card. If you have paid for the transaction, your money will be converted into the currency of your recipient at the exchange rates of Azimo.
How to complete your Azimo transfer?
If everything is done and ready, just tap on the “send money” option, and there you have made your transaction via Azimo.
What does Azimo offer?
At times, we all need to send money online. Perhaps, you also want to send money abroad to family or friends. What matters most while transferring the money is:
- Services
- Speed
- Price
- Exchange rate
Azimo will provide you with the digital option to send international money. You can use the Azimo website or Azimo app to make transactions from anywhere.
Azimo Business Model
Azimo is connected with banks and social media to provide a better user experience with highly competitive transfer fees. The cost advantage strengthens the business model of the firm. Azimo claims to see its customers as people instead of just a “data point.” And this is what helps them make sound business decisions for their organization.
Azimo has already extended the services to Asia for sending and receiving money. In the words of the Chief Executive Officer at Azimo, Ambrose:
“The fundamentals of our business are strong. We have bucked the trend in FinTech by focusing on profitability and long-term sustainability. We are careful with our customer’s money, and with our own money too. The investments we have made in our technology platform have brought down the cost of each transfer.”
The Azimo CEO further states that:
“We have passed those savings on to customers while offering them an ever faster and more reliable service.”
Azimo Unique Selling Proposition (USP)
People in the modern world face financial anxiety, and Azimo claims to put mental health at the core of their products and services.
Moreover, consumers look for financial innovation that relieves the stress about money. Azimo is one of the supporters of the financial well-being of people around the world. By bringing ease to the world of money-transfer services, customers would now get more efficient experiences, eventually reducing their financial anxiety and making their lives easier.
How Does Azimo Make Money?
Azimo charges a fee to the customers for sending money. The exchange rates are another way for money-transfer companies like Azimo to make money. The amount Azimo earns also depends upon how you like the money to be sent and received.
Just to be clear, Azimo is a peer-to-peer (P2P) payments service and thus charges individuals and businesses for their application for sending money. You have to pay a transaction fee to access the additional services.
Azimo charges 1-2% of the transaction, which is lesser than the other similar services in the market like Western Union and PayPal.
SWOT Analysis of Azimo
Let’s analyze Azimo by its strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats. Before getting into it, it is crucial to learn the aspects of SWOT analysis.
If you didn’t know earlier, we have got you covered. Strengths and weaknesses form the internal factors of the SWOT analysis, while threats and opportunities form the external factors.
Strengths
- The Guardian has listed Azimo in one of the top 10 money-saving apps
- According to CNN, Azimo is the future of money transfer
- The Economist states that Azimo is changing finance for the better
- Azimo is way ahead in terms of technology as it depends on the digital platform and not on the brick-and-mortar banks
- The process involved in money transactions via Azimo is quicker and easier to help customers send money abroad with convenience
- The company has hired a multi-lingual staff to provide a better experience to the users from all over the world
- The official website of Azimo is kept very simple to operate easily even on not-so-advanced smartphones, making it accessible to migrant workers too
- The company is audited and monitored by FCA and HMRC
- By using Azimo, you will get a money-back guarantee which is hard to find in most other services
- Azimo has amassed an impressive 4.5 stars rating on the Glassdoor review site
Weaknesses
- The fee charged by Azimo lack transparency since the customer does not get to know the exchange rate margin
- Azimo’s fees are complex to understand
- A few users have reported that the customer service of Azimo is slow
- Some others have faced issues with payouts to receivers
- Azimo allows the European customers to send money but is not widely seen for the customers in the USA and Canada
- Azimo’s fee is not quite the cheapest among all of the competitors
Opportunities
- Azimo has partnered with Headway to get its hands on new opportunities in FinTech in the market of money-transfer
- Headway has given Azimo higher clarity and confidence in its projects
Threats
- Azimo is occupied in so many things, which, according to its own Chief Product and Technology Officer, has made it hard for the company to decide where to direct its time and effort.
- New companies like Malwarebytes are major threats to Azimo. Azimo might need to up its game to retain its current market share and compete with the rivals. For instance, Malwarebytes is considered to be the most effective software to tackle all threats in 60 infection scenarios.