What Aspora actually does
Aspora (formerly known as Vance) is a London-headquartered remittance app built almost entirely around one corridor: moving money from the Indian diaspora into bank accounts in India. It advertises itself around a simple pitch — the live mid-market exchange rate rather than a marked-up one, and no fee on a customer's first transfer.
The core product
In the UK, transfers run through Real Transfer Limited, an Authorised Payment Institution regulated by the Financial Conduct Authority (FRN535949), so this is a properly regulated payments business rather than an informal remittance operator. As of this check, sending is live from the UK, the US and the UAE, with several additional European markets — including Germany, Italy, Spain, France and the Netherlands — shown on Aspora's own site as upcoming rather than fully live yet, so anyone in those countries should confirm current availability before relying on it. Aspora quotes the live "Google rate" exchange rate rather than baking a margin into the rate itself, and the first transfer from GBP or EUR into India is free of transfer fees; the company reports that its users have collectively saved more than $50 million in foreign-exchange costs this way.
What's new or notable
The company has raised $93M in total funding, including a $53M Series B round co-led by Sequoia Capital and Greylock, and now reports more than 1 million users and over $2 billion in transfers processed on its own site — a meaningfully larger scale than the roughly 250,000 users reported in earlier company statements, suggesting fast recent growth. Beyond the core India remittance flow, Aspora has layered in an Indian bank-account-opening flow and investment tools aimed specifically at NRIs (non-resident Indians), and its site currently advertises upcoming savings accounts offering rates as high as 9% in select currencies, along with automated bill-payment and EMI/SIP investment-automation tools — features that, as of this check, are announced rather than confirmed fully live for every user, so treat them as roadmap items until you see them working in your own account. Aspora has also continued expanding its regulatory footprint outside Europe, with its Canadian entity, Nesse Technologies Inc., registering with the Bank of Canada as a Payment Services Provider in April 2026, and it separately supports a smaller UAE-to-Philippines transfer corridor alongside its main India-focused business.
Who should use Aspora
Great fit if…
- You regularly send money to India from the UK, US or UAE — this is the corridor the entire product is optimized around.
- You want the real exchange rate instead of a marked-up one — Aspora advertises the live mid-market rate rather than folding a margin into the number it quotes.
- Your first transfer is what you're testing — that one is fee-free, so it's low-risk to compare against your current provider.
Skip it if…
- You need to send money anywhere other than India — beyond a limited UAE-to-Philippines option, this app is not a general multi-country remittance service.
- You're outside the UK, US or UAE — several EU markets are still listed as coming soon rather than live, so residents there can't use it yet.
- You want an everyday spending account — Aspora doesn't offer a current account, debit card or multi-currency wallet for daily spending; it's built for moving money into India, not living out of.
Pricing in detail
Aspora doesn't charge a subscription; costs are per-transfer, and the first one is free.
| Plan | Price | What's included |
|---|---|---|
| First transfer | Free | No transfer fee on your first GBP or EUR transfer to India; the live mid-market exchange rate applies |
| Subsequent transfers | Reported fee of roughly 0.003%–0.30% of the amount, capped near £3 | Live mid-market exchange rate, plus a small per-transfer fee on top |
Where it falls short
- India-only focus — outside a small UAE-to-Philippines option, Aspora only sends money to India, so it's not useful for anyone without that specific corridor need.
- Limited live markets — sending is currently confirmed live from the UK, US and UAE; several other European countries are shown as coming soon on Aspora's own site rather than available today.
- Fees kick in after the first transfer — while the first send is free, repeat transfers carry a fee on top of the exchange rate, so frequent senders should check the fee quoted at the time of transfer rather than assuming it stays free.
Privacy & data
Because Aspora operates as a regulated UK payment institution, it is subject to UK GDPR and the data-protection obligations that come with FCA authorisation, including identity-verification (KYC) checks that require submitting government ID and personal financial details during signup. Aspora's public site doesn't publish a detailed breakdown of its encryption standards, biometric login options, or exactly how customer data is shared with banking partners on the receiving end in India, so beyond standard UK/EU data-protection law we can't independently verify specifics beyond what's stated in its own privacy policy — worth reading directly if data handling is a deciding factor for you.
How we checked this
This review is based on Aspora's own site (aspora.com), checked on 2026-09-04, along with its publicly reported funding history and regulatory filings. We reviewed the stated markets, fee structure and product roadmap as published; we did not open an account or send a real transfer, so exact fees on any specific transfer should be confirmed in-app before you rely on them.
What you get, what you give up
What you get
- Live mid-market exchange rate rather than a marked-up one, and the first transfer is fee-free
- Regulated by the FCA through an Authorised Payment Institution, not an offshore shell
What you give up
- Only sends money to India — it is not a multi-country remittance app or a general bank account, so it is useless for anyone without an India corridor need.
- Sending is currently limited to a handful of source markets (UK, UAE, US, Germany, Ireland, Italy); other EU countries are listed as 'coming soon' rather than live.
- The first transfer from GBP or EUR is fee-free, but subsequent transfers carry a fee (reported around 0.003%-0.30%, capped near £3) on top of the live exchange rate, so it is not permanently zero-cost.