Naspers’ PayU will lead round to fuel Remitly’s growth
31 October, 2017
Remitly, the largest independent digital remittance company in North America, today announced that it has agreed to raise up to $115 million in Series D funding, subject to applicable third party and regulatory approvals. The Series D financing will be led by Naspers’ fintech investment division PayU, a global online payment service provider. Existing Remitly investors Stripes Group, DFJ, and DN Capital will participate in the round. Laurent le Moal, PayU CEO, will join Remitly’s board of directors following the investment.
“Naspers’ PayU has a strong track record investing in and building payments businesses in high growth markets around the world that will be key as we continue our international expansion. This capital will supercharge our growth and help transform the lives of those who require cross-border transactions, including immigrants, by allowing us to offer them fundamentally better financial services,” said Matt Oppenheimer, Remitly CEO and co-founder.
Remitly is focused on addressing the largest sector of remittances, the $430 billion flow from developed countries to low and middle income countries. The company’s digital money transfer platform minimizes customer friction and makes the process of sending money internationally faster, easier, more transparent and less costly while keeping fraud loss rates at the lowest levels in the industry. Remitly customers are sending nearly $4 billion annually around the world while saving millions in fees and enjoying a better overall customer experience compared to traditional providers.
“Hundreds of millions of households and small merchants across the globe don’t have access to traditional banking services, stifling opportunity. We believe in the enormous potential of technology to unlock financial services for these underserved populations and Remitly is ready to take the stage,” said Laurent le Moal, CEO at PayU. “We’re delighted to leverage our global network and local expertise, especially in markets like India, to help Remitly expand financial services through this substantial investment and we look forward to working together to develop new products and services for consumers.”
Naspers is a global internet and entertainment group and one of the largest technology investors in the world, with investments in Tencent and Flipkart among others. PayU, a Naspers company, is focused on empowering people through financial services and is one of the biggest investors in the fintech space, with investments that include Citrus Pay and Kreditech. PayU supports over 300,000 merchants and millions of consumers making online payments. PayU’s heritage in local payments in growth markets, with a focus on providing access to products that meet local needs, is a perfect fit for Remitly as the company expands its global footprint.
“Providing the best customer experience is our highest priority. Our customers are heroes and deserve a financial service that is transparent, fair, and convenient. We’ve focused on creating the best possible experience for senders and receivers of remittances and look forward to offering it to immigrants all over the world,” added Oppenheimer.
About Remitly
Remitly is the largest independent digital remittance company headquartered in the United States, transferring nearly $4 billion in annualized volume from its customers in the United States, United Kingdom, and Canada to loved ones throughout the world. The company’s proprietary global transfer network includes its easy-to-use mobile app, which makes the process of sending money faster, easier, more transparent and less costly by eliminating the forms, codes, agents, extra time and fees typical of the traditional, century-old money transfer process. Remitly is backed by industry-leading investors, World Bank’s International Finance Corporation (IFC), Silicon Valley Bank, Stripes Group, DFJ, DN Capital, QED Investors, Trilogy Equity Partners, Bezos Expeditions, Founders’ Co-Op, and TomorrowVentures. The company is headquartered in Seattle, with additional offices in London, the Philippines, and Nicaragua. For more information, visit Remitly.com.
About PayU
PayU uses its payments heritage and expertise to deliver financial services in emerging markets. Our local operations in Asia, Central and Eastern Europe, Latin America, the Middle East and Africa enable us to be experts in these countries and provide the best solutions for the local market. PayU is the leading online payment service provider in 16 high growth markets, dedicated to creating a fast, simple and efficient payment process for merchants and buyers. Our 250+ payment methods and PCI certified platforms are designed to meet every consumer’s needs.
The markets in which PayU operates represent a potential consumer base of nearly 2.3 billion people and a huge growth potential for merchants. PayU has more than 1,800 payment specialists based in these local markets supporting PayU’s 300,000+ merchants and the millions of consumers making online payments.
PayU is a Naspers company, a global internet and media group and one of the largest technology investors in the world. For more information, please visit www.naspers.com
About FT Partners
Financial Technology Partners served as exclusive strategic and financial advisor to Remitly on this transaction. FT Partners is the only investment banking firm focused exclusively on providing strategic and financial advisory services to clients and CEOs in the dynamic global financial services and technology sector. For more, visit www.ftpartners.com.
