TransferWise app. Image: amirraizat/Shutterstock
Fintech unicorn TransferWise is plotting a global expansion.
London-headquartered start-up TransferWise has raised $280m in a massive Series E funding round led by Old Mutual Global Investors and IVP.
The round also included participation from Sapphire Ventures, Mitsui & Co and World Innovation Lab as well as existing investors Richard Branson, Andreessen Horowitz and Baillie Gifford.
This brings to $397m the amount of funding raised by TransferWise so far. The seven-year-old fintech start-up is currently valued at $1.6bn.
A European fintech unicorn in fine fettle
TransferWise was founded in 2011 by Taavet Hinrikus and Kristo Käärmann, and provides international money transfer.
It recently launched a borderless account for businesses and freelancers across the US and Europe to hold money in up to 27 currencies. It plans to launch a consumer borderless account and card in 2018.
Profitable since 2017, TransferWise now serves more than 2m customers and offers 750 currency routes.
The company will use the Series E round to fund its expansion to new markets, including Asia, where it says it has hundreds of thousands of customers. It recently opened an office in Singapore and is planning satellite offices in Tokyo and Sydney.
TransferWise moves $1bn in cash for customers every month, saving $1.5m a day compared with bank transaction.
TransferWise app. Image: amirraizat/Shutterstock
