London fintech player Worldremit raises $175m in series D funding
London fintech startup Worldremit has raised $175m (£138m) in a series D funding round led by TCV, Accel and Leapfrog Investments.
The cash will fund Worldremit’s plans to grab a greater share of the world remittance market, which was worth $689bn last year.
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The company also plans to release a new money transfer tool targeting small and medium businesses that trade internationally.
The fintech firm offers an app that allows people living and working abroad to send money to family and friends back home.
The business now covers almost 4m users in 50 “send” countries and 150 “receive” countries. The US is its biggest “send” market.
Breon Corcoran, chief executive of Worldremit, said: "The leadership team is grateful to our investors for their continued commitment to the business. The new money will help us to further develop the offering and we will launch a solution for small and medium-sized businesses."
TCV’s John Doran added: “In 2018, mobile and online payments to emerging markets reached a record high of $528bn and we expect this number to increase.
“As Worldremit handles a growing share of this market, we look forward to continue working with the company to scale its digital platform and expand its service to reach many new customers across the globe.”
Worldremit raised $40m in its last round of funding in 2017 and has now raised more than $400m overall.
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Although brick-and-mortar stores like Western Union still dominate the remittance market, investors are keen on new players on the scene, including not only Worldremit but also Azimo, Remitly and Transferwise, which became Europe's most valuable fintech startup this year with a valuation of $3.5bn.
The company went through a leadership shakeup last year when co-founder Ishamael Ahmed stepped down as CEO in September. Ahmed was replaced by Corcoran, who previously headed up online betting company Paddy Power Betfair.