Paysend Garners $10.6 Million in Funding

Paysend Garners $10.6 Million in Funding

Cross-border remittance startup Paysend has received a money transfer of its own this week. The London-based company landed $10.6 million (£8.5 million) in Series B funding, bringing its total raised to $30.7 million.

There’s no word on an updated valuation but before today’s round, the company was valued at $155 million.

The investment comes courtesy of GVA, which contributed almost $5 million (£3.95 million), as well as a Seedrs crowdfunding campaign that brought in $5.6 million (£4.6 million). Launched last month, the Seedrs campaign garnered contributions from investors, including Plug and Play and Digital Space Ventures, which co-led the round.

Regarding company’s decision to crowdfund the round, Paysend CEO Ronald Millar said, “This funding round has been the next step in our journey to create money for the future, and we’ve been delighted that we’ve been about to open it up to our customers in order to give them the opportunity to join us on the exciting next phase of the Paysend journey.”

Paysend, which demonstrated its Global Account at FinovateSpring 2018, competes with the likes of Transferwise and CurrencyFair to help users request money from 50 countries and send money across 70 countries. On a monthly basis, the company facilitates more than 2 million transactions totaling $55 million for its 900,000 users.

The company recently released Pays XDR, its own digital currency. Pays XDR is a stable coin backed by cash reserves, matched to the proportion of the International Monetary Fund’s Special Drawing Rights.

Adding to its already busy year, in May Paysend launched Paysend Link, an app that allows users to send money to anyone with just their phone number. Fund recipients can immediately transfer payments they receive to their Mastercard, Visa, or UnionPay card. The money is immediately available to use or to withdraw.

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Paysend Reaches Crowdfunding Goal of $5.3M

Paysend Reaches Crowdfunding Goal of $5.3M

London-based fintech Paysend announced late last week that it had reached its fundraising goal of $5.3 million (£4.2 million) after a three-day campaign on Seedrs. The company noted that more than 200 investors have participated in funding round, which was led by VC’s Plug & Play, Digital Space Ventures, and Marcorp Fintech. The funding puts Paysend’s total capital at more than $25 million and gives the company a valuation of more than $158 million (£1.25 million).

“We believe that (transferring money) should be as easy and immediate as sending an email, and finally the digital age is being able to facilitate this,” Paysend CEO Ronald Millar explained. He blamed the banking and payments industry for “conditioning” customers into believing that the difficulty of transferring money justified the complex process that most bank customers endure. “I have always been a firm believer that earning money can be tough but spending shouldn’t be,” Millar said.

The company said the funds will be used to fuel Paysend’s international expansion goals, including new partnerships with FIs. Paysend is currently active in 70 countries around the world, and Millar noted that the company is adding new customers at a pace of 2,000 a day. In fact, Paysend’s funding announcement comes as the company reports adding another six countries to its money transfer network. India, South Africa, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Pakistan, and Turkey are all slated to be brought onboard this year.

“We are on a major expansion path,” Millar told The Courier UK. “We’ve just launched the global account and we want to continue to grow the business and establish the operational team and launch more marketing.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, U.K., Paysend demonstrated its Global Account at FinovateSpring 2018. The solution enables users to store both fiat and crypto currencies in their wallet, exchange funds between currencies, send funds to other Global Accounts, and make payments from their account both online and in-person. The account comes with a prepaid card (both physical and virtual) that can be linked to the currencies in the user’s wallet, enabling them to make everyday transactions in the currency of their choice as easily as spending with a debit card. Users can also use their Global Account card to withdraw cash in 125 currencies.

Paysend has more than 750,000 users of its technology, and facilitates more than two million transactions a month. In May, the company announced the launch of its new payments app, Paysend Link, which enables users to send money to anyone, anywhere using only the recipient’s mobile phone number. Also in May, Paysend reported that its new stablecoin would be available on the Stellar Network this summer.

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Paysend Introduces New Payments App

Paysend Introduces New Payments App

The new mobile app from Paysend, Paysend Link, enables users to send money to anyone, anywhere, with just the recipient’s mobile phone number.

“We are constantly looking for ways to simplify and improve (the) customer experience and make it even easier for the sender to initiate a transaction,” Paysend CEO Ronald Millar said. “Now all they have to do is provide a recipient’s phone number and click send.”

Available in the iOS and Google Play app stores, PaySend Link enables fund recipients to see the incoming transfer and direct it to their Visa, Mastercard, or UnionPay card. The recipient can then immediately use the funds for transactions or withdraw the funds as cash at any ATM. PaySend added that it will make fund transfers directly to bank accounts available “soon.”

Millar pointed out that one of the advantages of PaySend Link is that it doesn’t require the exchange of personal information. “This sets a new standard when it comes to security and safety of customer data and financial information shared across borders,” Millar said. “What’s more – it’s a recipient who decides where they want to direct the incoming transfer to – their bank account, debit, or credit card.”

Founded in 2016 and headquartered in London, Paysend demonstrated its Global Account at FinovateSpring 2018. The account enables users to store fiat and crypto currencies, move funds between different currencies, transfer funds to other Global accounts or crypto wallets, and make purchases online or in-person. The account also comes with a prepaid card (both physical and virtual) to facilitate in person transactions and make cash withdrawals.

Earlier this year, the company announced that it would support money transfers to bank accounts in 34 European countries. Paysend began 2019 with news that it had forged a payments partnership with Vietcombank. The company has raised $20 million in funding, and includes MARCorp Financial and Digital Space Ventures among its investors.

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