- Remitly — an international money transfer service — announced it raised $220 million in a new round of financing
International money transfer service Remitly announced it raised $220 million in a new round of financing to help expand its customer base worldwide. This round of funding includes $135 million Series E equity and $85 million in syndicated debt financing.
The equity portion was led by Generation Investment Management. Owl Rock Capital, Princeville Global, Prudential Financial, Schroder & Co Bank AG, and Top Tier Capital Partners also joined the equity round along with existing investors DN Capital, Naspers’ PayU, and Stripes Group.
And debt financing comes from Barclays, Bridge Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank had acted as administrative agent and lead arranger.
Currently, Remitly transfers over $6 billion in annualized volume through its proprietary global money transfer network across Africa, Asia, Central Europe, Central, and South America. And it makes the process of sending money faster and easier by eliminating the forms, codes, agents, extra time, and fees typical of the traditional money transfer processes.
This past year, Remitly expanded to 16 send and 44 receive countries. And the annual revenue growth was nearly 100% for each of the past 3 years.
“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,” said Remitly CEO and co-founder Matt Oppenheimer. “We are transforming the way that people send money home, bringing convenience, savings, security and new levels of customer service to an underserved community. At the same time, our business has been close to doubling year-on-year. This fundraising round will help us deliver better financial products to even more customers around the globe.”
Generation’s investment came from the $1 billion Sustainable Solutions Fund. In conjunction with this round of funding, Lucia Rigo — the Director in Growth Equity at Generation — is joining the Remitly board
“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,” added Rigo. “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.”
This latest round of funding will help extend the company’s presence internationally and bringing it to more countries. Plus Remitly is also investing in new businesses beyond remittances.
