If you own a business and are using your personal Remitly account to send money to friends or family, you may be wondering how to pay contractors or suppliers too. In that case, it all comes down to what the payment is for, not how much you’re sending. Ultimately, you want to keep your business and personal payments separate to protect your personal assets and simplify your tax reporting.
Business payments go through Remitly Business, and personal transfers stay within your personal account. You’re able to have both a Remitly Personal and Remitly Business account, each registered with its own email address. Here’s how to tell which account a payment belongs in, and how to set up both.
This guide is for U.S. businesses paying contractors and suppliers abroad. It compares the two Remitly account types, not business and personal bank accounts. It draws on Remitly’s U.S. personal terms, the Remitly Business terms, and the list of Remitly Business account features.
Why open a business account if you’re only paying one small invoice?
If your personal Remitly account already works, opening a second one can feel like extra work, especially if the payment in front of you is one small invoice. You already know how your account works, and your contractor or supplier is waiting to be paid.
Under the terms of Remitly’s personal money-transfer service, you must use this account for personal, family, or household purposes, whatever the payment’s size. Those terms exclude business use, and using a personal account for business can lead to account suspension.
For example, take Jamie, a U.S. business owner. This week, Jamie has two payments to send overseas. One is a 200 USD invoice for a freelance designer who made her a new business logo; the other is a 200 USD birthday gift for a friend.
Even though the amounts are the same, the purposes aren’t. The design invoice is for business purposes, so it goes through Remitly Business. The birthday gift is personal, so it goes through Jamie’s Remitly Personal account.
Jamie does need to go through the extra setup, but she does not need to pay a setup or monthly subscription fee for her Remitly Business account. She also gets something back. Each payment that goes through Remitly Business comes with a receipt in the business’s name, which shows the transfer fee and exchange rate, including margins, as separate line items.
What do you get from a business account?
Receipts in your business name. For each payment, you get a receipt in your business’s name with the transfer details. You can file this receipt alongside the invoice that you’re paying, which helps cleanly reconcile your books for tax purposes.
Using the same example from above, Jamie saves the designer’s receipt alongside the 200 USD invoice. Together, they show the amount, what the cost was for, and when and how it was paid. Proof of payment on its own doesn’t establish that a payment is tax-deductible, as the IRS recordkeeping guidance explains. Jamie still needs to do the appropriate bookkeeping, but now the payment is easier to track.
No new bank account. If you already have an established business account, business debit card, or business credit card, then Remitly Business does not require you to open a new bank account or add money to a wallet. You can use the business account that you already have to make payments for business purposes. Payment options do vary depending upon the sender’s location. For the step-by-step walkthrough, see how Remitly Business works.
Less need to chase payout details and hold others’ personal info. Asking a contractor to send their bank details by email isn’t a secure way to collect that information. It can also take a lot of back-and-forth communication and multiple rounds of messages. With Remitly Business’s Send by Link, you enter the recipient’s name, email, and phone number, then send them a secure link to enter their own payout details. Also, they don’t need to create a Remitly account or download the Remitly app to complete the request.
Bulk Payments. When several invoices are due at once, Remitly Business’s Bulk Payments lets you pay up to 20 recipients in one batch via desktop. Other payment limits also apply.
Remitly personal and business at a glance
| Remitly personal | Remitly Business | |
| Purpose | Personal, family, or household transfers | Your business’s payments |
| Setup | Personal-account verification | Personal details, business details, and ownership information |
The table leaves out pricing and country coverage, because they depend on the specific transfer. Delivery options vary depending upon the recipient’s location.
Should you keep both your Remitly Personal and Remitly Business accounts?
Yes, you should keep both your Remitly Personal and Remitly Business accounts if you are a business owner that needs to pay invoices for business purposes and still wants to send money for personal, family, or household transfer purposes.
Examples of when to use Remitly Business vs Remitly Personal
| Use case | Remitly Personal | Remitly Business |
| Jamie wants to send a monetary gift to her niece. | ✅ This is a personal transfer. | X |
| Jamie wants to pay a supplier in Italy that provides furniture for her interior design business. | X | ✅ This instance is strictly for business reasons, so the transfer falls under Remitly Business. |
| Jamie wants to pay a freelance interior designer in Mexico to help with design improvements to her personal home. | ✅ Even though Jamie is paying a freelancer, it is for her own personal needs, not related to her business. This instance falls under Remitly Personal. | X |
| Jamie needs to pay a contractor in Pakistan for the new design of her business logo. | X | ✅ The new logo is for business purposes, so this transfer falls under Remitly Business. |
Prepare these details before your first business payment
When you’re opening a Remitly Business account, first your business needs to be verified for your protection. This ensures that you’re the one who is actually opening the account and not a fraudster who is trying to create a fake account in your business’s name. You should check the following details:
- Eligibility. Check the entity and activity requirements in the Remitly Business terms, not a generic business-bank-account checklist. U.S. sole proprietorships, LLCs, and corporations can apply, and the person using the account must live in the U.S. Check your eligibility and get started with Remitly Business.
- Funding. Use a supported bank account or card that your business is authorized and legally entitled to use. If you plan to pay from an account or card in your own name rather than your business’s, check with support first.
- Destination. Check that the country, currency, and payout method you need are available for this transfer. Remitly Business sends from the U.S. to other countries, not between two U.S. accounts.
As you go make your first payment, you should check the following:
- The quote. Before you confirm, the quote shows the fee, the exchange rate, and the amount your contractor or supplier receives. A delivery estimate may not always appear. Look at the total you’ll pay as well as the amount that will arrive for your recipient.
- Records. File the invoice and the payment receipt together, so each payment has its supporting document. IRS Publication 583 covers which business records to keep.
For a longer list, see the preparation checklist for your first business payment.
How to request conversion of your existing account
If you’d rather turn your existing account into a Business account, you can request conversion to Remitly Business.
- Contact support: You submit the email on your existing account, then wait for an email from the Remitly support team letting you know that your Business account is ready.
- Restrictions may apply: Remitly may ask for more information before your verification is complete. Remember, it’s a request, so your account won’t instantly switch over in the app. If you need both a personal and business account, use the separate signup instead.
- Confirm first: Before you make this request, ask support what it would mean for your personal transfers, transfer history, saved recipients, and payment methods.
What if your situation is less straightforward?
I’m a sole proprietor. Do I need an EIN?
Not necessarily. Sole proprietorships can use Remitly Business, and Remitly may ask for an EIN or an ITIN, along with owner or control-person details. Check the terms before you sign up.
The invoice is due tonight. What are my options?
Check where your business verification stands. Tell your contractor or supplier when they can expect the payment, and agree on a new date if necessary. If the invoice truly can’t wait, contact our customer suppor team to discuss if any other options are available to you. They’re available 24/7. Your personal Remitly account isn’t a workaround, because its terms exclude business use.
I already paid through my personal account. What now?
Keep the invoice and the receipt together, and contact Remitly support to ask how to handle a business payment sent from your personal account. For the next invoice, set up your Remitly Business account first.
Sources
- Remitly, U.S. personal user agreement, section 3.3, effective February 23, 2026, checked September 21, 2026
- Remitly, Remitly Business user agreement, updated August 1, 2026, checked September 21, 2026
- IRS, Publication 583, revised December 2024, checked September 21, 2026
