By
Steve Muchoki
May 13th, 2020
TransferGo announces that they have successfully completed their Series B funding as scheduled. The latest funding includes $830,000 in equity crowdfunding through Seedrs.
Since its inception, blockchain is gaining popularity irrespective of the recent cryptocurrency market plunges. Many institutions, industries, governments, and central banks are gradually embracing the new technology. The digital currencies are also taking over and reshaping the global financial landscape. TransferGo, the international money transfer startup based in London, recently adopted the Ripple blockchain.
The Funding
The remittance outfit announced that they have closed a Series B funding round that attained over $17.5 million. The process was led by Hard Yaka and Vostok Emerging Finance from Silicon Valley. Other notable participants included U-Start Club, Revo Capital, and Practica Capital. The reported amount also includes approximately $830,000 in equity crowdfunding through Seedrs.
TransferGo operates in at least 47 countries worldwide. Founded in 2012, they have offices in Warsaw, London, Istanbul, Berlin, and Vilnius. The funding round took two tranches to attain. The first capital funding was scheduled and completed in May while the current funding process is the second funding episode.
The latest funding comes immediately after a successful crowdfunding campaign done on Seedrs. The company alleges to have a customer base of around 833,000 users, adding more than 1,000 new customers daily. After integrating Ripple blockchain to their systems, they boast offering real-time international money transfer services. That enables them to offer international “cross-network” transfers in less than half-an-hour.
Money Transfer Service
Recently, the company introduced a free international money transfer service. The new service is purported to offer a zero transaction fee without any markup on exchange rates. Therefore, their customers can transfer money throughout the world at no cost. If you are not time sensitive, their free tier is an excellent option.
On the other hand, users who need guaranteed arrival time or transferring large amounts, the paid tier is a viable option. TransferGo co-founder and CEO Daumantas Dvilinskas explained their recent developments via calls and follow-up emails. He said that the company has set up a proprietary technology and infrastructure.
The new infrastructure lets them do 30-minute transfers on all the channels that they provide at a low cost. They have partner bank accounts quite close to all their final destination points. The company also reroutes the money being transferred to eliminate gratuitous charges. He explained:
“We cross-sell our customers different delivery options based on how quickly they want to receive the money”
The Customer Base
The CEO believes that most of their customers are ‘global citizens’ who send and receive at least $500 around the world. He believes that the growing user base originates from individuals who were formerly using a bank, cash bureau, or PayPal. In addition, he said:
“We see a growing larger transaction segment who are leveraging our competitive currency conversion rate for larger transactions to pay bills or buy goods abroad”
TrasferGo originated from the need by people in the U.K. to send money to Eastern and Central Europe. According to World Bank data, the company currently claims 20% of the market share in this corridor. Nonetheless, Turkey, Ukraine, India, Germany, and Poland are important ‘send markets’ as explained by Dvilinskas.
