Fintech startup Nium today revealed it has secured a fresh round of funding from new backers that include Visa.
The cross-border payments firm focuses on large enterprises under its Nium brand, while the old company name, Instarem, remains the moniker of its consumer and small businesses remittances service.
It did not reveal the new investment amount, but a spokesperson tells Technode Global it’s “building on Nium’s series C” in March last year.
“Nium and Visa’s collaboration began in early 2019 when Nium joined the Visa Fintech Fast Track program in Asia Pacific,” said Chris Clark, Visa’s regional president for Asia Pacific, in a statement this afternoon. “We’ve worked together on new commerce experiences like instant remittances for consumers and businesses in Southeast Asia.”
Prajit Nanu, Nium CEO and co-founder, described Visa’s investment as “a vote of confidence for our business model and its resilience despite the climate”:
Visa frequently invests in finance-related tech startups, although few have been ones born in Asia.
Nium facts & stats:
- Started in 2014 in Singapore
- InstaReM claims to have one million users (though it’s not specified if they’re active users) across 10 markets
- Nium operates in 90 countries, supporting 63 currencies
- Handled close to $2 billion in transactions in first three months of year
- Aims to be profitable in second half 2021
- BRI Ventures, the corporate venture arm of Bank BRI of Indonesia, joins Visa as a brand-new backer
- Earlier investors include Vertex Ventures and Rocket Internet
- Raised $59.5 million total funding, not including today’s undisclosed sum
Global remittance industry:
- Worth $682.6 billion in 2018, rising to $930.4 billion by 2026
- South Asia and Southeast Asia regions to show largest growth in incoming remittances from now to 2026
- Inward remittances are important to countries with many migrant workers—such as the Philippines, where incoming money accounts for 10% of GDP