Remitly raises $12.5M Series B, plans to add countries to service
Remitly, Inc., the online remittance service, today announced it closed a $12.5 million Series B funding round. The latest round was led by DFJ and includes investments from DN Capital and existing investors QED Investors and Trilogy Equity Partners.
The Seattle-based mobile payments service enables person-to-person international money transfers from the U.S. to the Philippines and India. Cash from the funding round will be used to grow the Remitly team, launch new marketing activities and expand the service to other countries.
Since the company was founded in 2011, Remitly has raised $10.5 million in five rounds from 11 investors. The latest funding round brings that total to $23 million.
The company experienced significant growth in 2014, claiming that its customer base grew 400 percent year-over-year and over $100 million is sent internationally via the service annually.
Remitly distinguishes itself from other remittance services by charging lower fees – according to the World Bank Group, average worldwide remittance fees are 7.9 percent, whereas Remitly charges two percent on average – and a superior user experience through optimized web and mobile platforms.
Co-founder and CEO Matt Oppenheimer has drawn from personal experience to build the Remitly platform and service. Oppenheimer lived and worked in Kenya, where he ran Barclays Bank’s mobile and Internet banking programs, prior to starting Remitly.
“While living in Africa, I saw firsthand the many barriers people faced when sending money to friends, family and businesses. It was incredibly difficult, expensive and the process was arduous and slow. We started Remitly because we knew we could change that,” he said.
“At DFJ, we are always looking to back mission-inspired entrepreneurs who want to tackle large market opportunities with disruptive approaches,” said William Bryant, a partner at DFJ who will be joining Remitly’s board of directors, in a statement.
Oppenheimer pointed out that Remitly’s recent growth shows that the company is ready to take advantage of the growing remittance market.
“Remittance is a $125 billion opportunity in the U.S. and $500 billion globally. We have earned the trust of tens of thousands of people by transferring their hard-earned wages back to the people they care most about. And we’re just getting started.”
Images via Remitly
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