Failure Analysis
Zepz died from the classic fintech trap: confusing revenue growth with profitable growth. They raised $700M and expanded into 100+ corridors, but each new...
Zepz \UK
Zepz (formerly WorldRemit and Sendwave) promised to democratize international money transfers by offering a mobile-first, low-cost alternative to Western Union and MoneyGram. The value proposition was compelling: migrants could send money home instantly via app, avoiding predatory fees and physical locations. At its peak, it served millions in emerging markets where remittances are lifelines, not luxuries. The psychological hook was dignity—no more standing in line at a storefront, no more 10% fees eating into wages earned cleaning offices or driving Ubers. It was financial inclusion wrapped in a slick UX, backed by the narrative that fintech could disrupt legacy players who'd exploited vulnerable populations for decades.
Discover the reason behind the shutdown and the market before & today
Market Analysis
The remittance market today is bifurcating. On one end, Wise has achieved operational excellence and profitability by focusing on transparency and efficiency in developed-to-developed...
Startup Learnings
Marketplace dynamics don't apply to remittances. Zepz assumed that serving more corridors would create a moat, but remittances are bilateral transactions with zero network...
Market Potential
The global remittance market is $860 billion annually and growing, but it's increasingly commoditized. Wise, Remitly, and traditional banks have compressed margins to 1-3%,...
Difficulty
Rebuilding a cross-border remittance platform today is extremely difficult due to regulatory complexity across 100+ countries, each with unique KYC/AML requirements, banking partnerships, and...
Scalability
Remittances scale poorly because each new corridor requires bespoke compliance work, local partnerships, and customer acquisition in both sending and receiving markets. Unlike SaaS...
Rebuild & monetization strategy: Resurrect the company
Execution Plan
Phase 2
Create a developer-friendly REST API with sandbox environment, Postman collection, and 48-hour integration time. Include webhooks for transaction status, compliance holds, and fraud alerts.
Phase 3
Sign 2 design partners: a neobank targeting immigrants and a payroll platform serving remote workers. Offer rev share of 30% to prove unit economics and gather feedback.
Phase 4
Build a compliance dashboard that auto-generates SAR filings, transaction monitoring alerts, and audit trails. Make compliance a feature, not a burden, for customers.
Phase 5
Launch self-serve onboarding for fintechs with <$10M in funding. Charge $5K setup fee + 50 bps per transaction. Target 10 customers in first 6 months.
Monetization Strategy
Revenue share model: 50 basis points per transaction, split 30 bps to the customer and 20 bps to us. For a fintech processing $10M/month in remittances, that's $20K MRR to us. Target 50 customers at $10M/month each within 3 years = $12M ARR. Upsell premium features: dedicated compliance support ($5K/month), custom corridor builds ($50K one-time), and fraud insurance (10 bps per transaction). Gross margins of 60% by owning FX spreads and last-mile integrations. CAC payback in 4 months via direct sales.
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