WorldRemit Raises $175M For Global Expansion

WorldRemit, the mobile payments company, announced Monday (June 3) that it raised $175 million in venture funding.

In a press release, WorldRemit said the Series D round of funding was led by TCV, Accel and Leapfrog Investments, who are returning investors. The company, which was founded in 2010, is a global provider of smartphone and online payments. The company serves nearly 4 million customers transferring money from 50 send countries to 150 receive countries, it said in the press release.

“For more than eight years our core purpose has been and continues to be to help migrants send money to their families, friends and communities. Our customers play a key role in the economies where they work and their remittances are important to their home countries,” WorldRemit Chief Executive Officer Breon Corcoran said in the press release. “Our mission is to help them transfer money as securely and speedily as possible while reducing the cost to our customers. We will grow our business through differentiation on speed, service, security and value.”

WorldRemit said the funding round comes at a time when the company is entering a pivotal stage of its growth. Last year the U.S. became WorldRemit’s second largest market. During 2018 it became the first U.K. financial service firm to have licenses in all 50 states. WorldRemit said it will use the new funds to drive growth on a global basis and to diversify its product offering for money transfer senders and recipients. Its also gearing up to launch a new money transfer service for small and medium-sized businesses that have international operations, particularly in emerging markets.

“In 2018, mobile and online payments to emerging markets reached a record high of $528 billion 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,” TCV General Partner John Doran said in the press release.