Technology

Posted on July 12, 2019 by staff

US FinTech Remitly targets UK growth with $220m investment

Technology

A fast-growing US FinTech is targeting growth in the UK after raising a mammoth $220 million investment.

Seattle-headquartered Remitly is an online international money transfer service and employs 16 people in London, which it describes as a ‘major’ office.

Iain Mackenzie recently joined as communications director for Europe and told BusinessCloud that the service is now live in the UK as well as Austria, Belgium, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Ireland, Italy, Netherlands, Norway, Spain and Sweden.

“We’re looking to build awareness of Remitly through marketing and other functions, because it is one thing to switch the service on, another to build the customer base,” Mackenzie told BusinessCloud.

“We have growth targets but there’s so much opportunity, with the vast majority of people sending money offline – especially in Southern Europe – that it is less about targets than reaching everyone, everywhere.”

The fundraising includes $135m Series E equity and $85m syndicated debt financing. The equity component is led by Generation Investment Management.

Other participants in the equity portion are Owl Rock Capital, Princeville Global, Prudential Financial, Schroder & Co Bank AG, and Top Tier Capital Partners, alongside Remitly’s existing investors, including DN Capital, Naspers’ PayU, and Stripes Group.

Debt financing comes from Barclays, Bridge Bank, Goldman Sachs, and Silicon Valley Bank. Silicon Valley Bank acted as administrative agent and lead arranger.

Over the past year Remitly has expanded to 16 send and 44 receive countries. Annual revenue growth was close to 100 per cent for each of the past three 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.”

Remitly has growth teams based around the world, with other ‘major’ offices in Manila and Managua. The latest round of financing will help to extend and deepen the company’s presence internationally, and to bring the service to many more countries.