InstaReM, a Singaporean cross-border payments company, has officially closed its Series C funding round at US$41 million. In the announcement, the company said it plans to IPO in 2021, e27 reported.
According to TechCrunch, the company specializes in moving money between countries in Asia in a similar way to TransferWise although, unlike TransferWise, its focus is on banks as customers rather than purely consumers. Today, it covers 50 countries and it has offices in Singapore, Mumbai, Lithuania, London and Seattle.
The company has been raising the funding round for awhile, having announced its first US$25 million close in November, 2018. The original goal was to raise US$45 million.
The funding was led by Vertex Growth Fund, a fund that targets startups on the cusp of growth-stage with the hopes of helping them through the process. This is the firm’s first investment into Southeast Asia.
Atinum Investments, a VC out of South Korea, was the other participant in the latest tranche of the funding.
Instarem said it plans to spend the money on expansion into Latin America, where it will open a regional office, and double down on Asia by going after money licenses in countries like Japan and Indonesia.
It recently received approval from Malaysia’s Central Bank to onboard customers via its electronic know-your-customer process. InstaReM said this should allow it to pursue fast growth in Malaysia.
The company is also on the cusp of adding prepaid debit card capabilities, which will allow it to issue cards to consumers in 25 countries and more widely offer the option to its banking customers. That’s thanks to a deal with Visa
