London’s Paysend Licensed To Operate In Canada

Paysend, a FinTech out of the U.K., has received a license to operate in Canada in a move that will expand the company’s global reach, according to reports.

The company obtained a money service business (MSB) license in Canada, and it said the procurement of the license was its first step in expanding more deeply into North America.

The license will let Paysend customers move money all around the world instantly for a fixed fee. It will be available to Canadian customers early next year. Paysend was started two years ago, and it offers a card-to-card global money transfer service. Paysend said it has over 1 million users around the world.

Paysend is available in 45 countries and numerous currencies. The company said it is successful because of an increasingly mobile workforce and an increase of international migrants.

“Canada is home to a large number of immigrants, most of whom regularly send money to their families back home,” Paysend CEO Ronald Millar said. “Very often these transactions are life changing for those that send or receive them. We want to support these people by making what was once laborious, slow and expensive, simple, quick and with a minimal cost. Moving into Canada is a significant step for Paysend global expansion plan, establishing a firm foothold in North America which is a massive opportunity.”

According to World Bank figures, 270 million people around the world live somewhere other than their home country, and they send about $689 billion back home.

“I’m excited that soon Canadians will be able to access a money transfer service that prioritizes convenience, accessibility and low fees,” said Timur Shomansurov, Canada country manager at Paysend.

Paysend has partnered with Visa, Mastercard and UnionPay to help facilitate faster payments.

“Our own state-of-the-art processing center is connected to the global banking network, so we can track all transactions and keep you informed on the status of every transfer,” the company said on its website. “We would debit your card instantly and credit your recipient’s card depending on the processing capabilities of the issuing bank in the destination country.”