Azimo has raised $10 million for its Series A financing round, TechCrunch reported.
Greycroft Partners led the round for the UK-based money transfer startup which was also participated in by Accion's Frontier Investments Group, eVentures, TA Ventures, RI Digital Ventures and KRW Schindler Investments. The most recent funding round comes after the seed round which closed late last year and was led by eVentures. As part of the deal, Kamran Ansari of Greycroft Partners and Monica Brand of Accion's Frontier Investments Group will both be joining the Board of Directors of Azimo, the report said.
Azimo intends to deploy the proceeds from the round to hasten its expansion in Europe. It also has plans to grow in other vital markets in North America and Asia. As of the moment, Azimo allows money transfers from various countries in Europe to 192 countries around the world. Latin America, West Africa and Southeast Asia are among the markets where the startup has a growing number of recipients, the report said.
In a statement, Accion's Frontier Investments Group Managing Director Monica Brand said, "We've looked at the investment case for numerous remittance ventures around the world. The Azimo team's track record in the sector, disruptive business model and their commitment to serve the two-and-a-half-billion unbanked potential remittance recipients, made us decide this was the business to back. We believe this is an exciting investment with potential for scale that can also change the world for the better."
Azimo was founded in August 2012 with the goal of allowing users to undertake international money transfers through its mobile apps, the Web or even through Facebook and disrupting traditional remittance services. Azimo only charges anywhere from 1% to 2% for every transaction, a rate that is lower than what the banks, Western Union or even PayPal charges. Recipients on their end can get the money through their bank accounts, in domestic cash collection areas or as credit in their mobile wallets, the report said.
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