US-based digital remittance company Remitly has secured $220m (£175.52m) of new financing, which it expects to use for delivering better financial products to an increased customer base across the globe.
Image: Remitly plans to use the new capital to bring its service to many more countries. Photo: courtesy of stux/pixabay.
The new capital for Remitly has come from a Series E equity round which fetched $135m (£107.7m) and syndicated debt financing of $85m (£67.81m).
The Series E equity round was led by UK-based investment management firm Generation Investment Management through its $1bn (£800m) Sustainable Solutions Fund. Owl Rock Capital, Princeville Global, Prudential Financial, Top Tier Capital Partners, and Schroder & Co Bank apart from Remitly’s existing investors like DN Capital, PayU, and Stripes Group were the other participants in the funding round.
Generation Investment Management growth equity director Lucia Rigo said: “We believe that the best businesses are those accelerating the transition to a sustainable economy. Remitly has approached their digital-first product with a deep passion for the customers they serve, and a commitment to improving transparency and efficiency in cross-border money transfer.
“Their organic growth, generated in recent years, is a testament to their impact. We look forward to partnering with the Remitly team to further accelerate their business and make essential financial services more inclusive.”
The debt financing for the online global money transfer service was provided by Barclays, Bridge Bank, Silicon Valley Bank, and Goldman Sachs. Silicon Valley Bank was the administrative agent and lead arranger of the syndicated debt financing.
Remitly said that the investment is yet another signal of its momentum. The money transfer start-up claimed that in the last one year, its service has grown to 16 send and 44 receive countries, while its annual revenue increased nearly 100% for each of the past three years.
Remitly CEO and co-founder Matt Oppenheimer said: “It says something very powerful about Remitly’s mission and prospects, to have such an impressive roster of investors participating in our Series E round. They share our belief that it is possible to do good while building a strong, sustainable business.
“We are transforming the way that people send money home, bringing convenience, savings, security and new levels of customer service to an underserved community.”
In March 2019, Remitly joined forces with Visa to enhance cross-border money transfer service by working on further modernisation of the sending and receiving of funds globally.
The firms expect to achieve this through the addition of a fast, secure and transparent channel to the Remitly’s digital money transfer platform via Visa’s real-time push payments platform, Visa Direct.