A world away in the heart of Seattle: Remitly’s new HQ provides more room to collaborate — and grow

It was only a three-block move across downtown Seattle, but it feels like a world away. Remitly, the digital remittance company, cut the ribbon on its new headquarters space at the gleaming Rainier Square skyscraper on Thursday, officially welcoming employees to their new home after several years at 1111 3rd Ave. But while the 14-year-old company is firmly rooted in the city’s core, there are times inside the office where employees or visitors might feel like they’re in Africa, Asia, the Middle East or Latin America. That feeling is intentional for a company that does global business, as executives spelled… Read More

May 30, 2025 - 22:10

A gathering space at Remitly’s new Seattle headquarters designed to invoke the city’s Pike Place Market. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

It was only a three-block move across downtown Seattle, but it feels like a world away.

Remitly, the digital remittance company, cut the ribbon on its new headquarters space at the gleaming Rainier Square skyscraper on Thursday, officially welcoming employees to their new home after several years at 1111 3rd Ave.

But while the 14-year-old company is firmly rooted in the city’s core, there are times inside the office where employees or visitors might feel like they’re in Africa, Asia, the Middle East or Latin America.

That feeling is intentional for a company that does global business, as executives spelled out the reasons for the move, why the space looks like it does, how it all works for employees, and why — even with a new office — a hybrid work model is still optimal.

“This space is a result of what we built together, and it’s a huge energizer for thinking about what’s next,” co-founder and CEO Matt Oppenheimer said from a 10th-floor gathering space designed to feel like Seattle’s beloved Pike Place Market.

What’s next is more growth.

Remitly co-founder and CEO Matt Oppenheimer, right, cuts the ribbon on the new office space on Thursday alongside Heather Rogers, Remity’s principal program manager for real estate. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

With 2,800 employees at offices around the world, and more than 500 of them in Seattle, Remitly takes its commitment to its home city seriously. The new HQ occupies floors eight, nine and 10 at Rainier Square, and there are plans to take over floor seven next year, with room for 220 more workstations.

From its initial startup days in Boise, Idaho, in 2011, across five or six headquarters spaces in the years since, Remitly has learned what works best when it comes to collaboration.

The new space is big on all of the necessary tech-office perks and designs that foster such work, including dozens of meeting rooms, large conference spaces, dining areas, private booths and nooks, gathering spots of all kinds, quiet rooms, and even a low-lit space popular with developers called “The Cave.”

“Our new office is a bold expression of our mission and our tribute to the global communities we serve,” said Heather Rogers, principal program manager for real estate, who has been at Remitly for 11 years. “Every detail has been thoughtfully considered, linking our physical space to our purpose.”

Meeting spaces of all kinds punctuate the layout of Remitly’s new office. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Indeed, while situated in the heart of Seattle, the office does its best to transport employees and visitors to cities in one of the 170 countries where Remitly does business.

It starts at the 10th floor reception area, where a wall of video screens projects images of diverse people and places. A wall wrapped in tea leaves provides a subtle and pleasant aroma meant to transport visitors to a far-off destination. The lighting, plants, and color schemes all service the same goal.

The three office floors are themed around regions of the world, such as North America, Latin America, Africa and Asia. Textiles, furniture, wallpaper, artwork and even the screensavers on meeting room monitors offer a colorful reminder of a diverse global community.

Reinforcing culture in person

The main reception area at Remitly features a video wall flashing images from around the world. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

In a post-pandemic era when remote and hybrid work styles are still a major consideration at many tech companies — and return-to-office mandates have been debated and protested at others — Remitly’s requirement is that employees spend 50% of their time in-office.

“I think we learned that there’s some work that just is done more effectively when we’re together,” Oppenheimer said, adding that Remitly has always been intentional about culture and integrating it into the interview process, the performance review process and everything in between.

“We don’t have to be in person all the time, but when we are it’s really helpful to have the space that does accomplish that collaboration that we’re shooting for,” Oppenheimer added.

A recent report on trends in work styles showed that the structured hybrid model is still the dominant preference at U.S. companies, with 66% of firms requiring three days in office. Full-time in-office policies — such as Amazon’s — increased to 33% in Q2.

Meeting rooms at Remitly are named for cities around the world and windows are screened with images from those places. (GeekWire Photo / Kurt Schlosser)

Chief Product and Technology Officer Ankur Sinha said workplace flexibility continues to be a net positive when it comes to recruitment of engineers. And the ability to collaborate in-office with teams or find suitable spaces for intense focus are also beneficial to Remity’s retention efforts.

Tech spaces have come a long way from the days of ping-pong and free beer on tap.

“I don’t know if that’s why people choose to join a job now, as they used to before, when Google popularized this whole notion of stay-at-work culture,” Sinha said, adding that if someone needs a ping-pong break after coding for half the day, that’s great.

Rainier Square, located at 1320 4th Ave., is one of the Seattle’s newest skyscrapers. Amazon originally planned to occupy 30 floors but backed out in 2019, putting the high-profile 58-story building on the sublease market. PCC Community Markets, which originally had a full-format store at the base of the tower, left in 2023, but is set to return with a smaller store this summer.

Oppenheimer said it’s important to him and Remitly to have a strong presence in downtown Seattle amid the city’s efforts to bounce back from the pandemic.

“I think it’s a bit of self-reinforcing,” Oppenheimer said of revitalizing the city’s core. More workers mean more restaurants, more energy, etc. “We care deeply about safety. We care deeply about public transport. Given our scale and size we do want to be part of the solution, working with the city in some of those areas.”

Beyond its growing footprint, Remitly is also seeing rising earnings. It reported first-quarter revenue of $361.6 million, up 34% year-over-year, with a net income of $11.4 million, up from a net loss of $21.1 million in the year-ago period. The company increased send volume on its platform by 41% to $16.2 billion.

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