Remitly raises $38m in new funding, announces Latin American expansion

Remitly, an independent US-based remittance company, has received $38m in new funding through equity and debt financing from IFC and Silicon Valley Bank.

The company said the funding will allow it to continue to expand its capability to deliver international fund transfers quickly.

“Remitly is driving important innovation in the peer to peer global payments arena,” said Minh Le, Market Manager for Silicon Valley Bank’s Washington and Western Canada region. “It is our pleasure to play a part in supporting Remitly’s growth during this exciting time of expansion.”

At the same time as the financing news, Remitly also revealed its expansion into more countries in the Central and South American regions, where international remittances are of great importance. According to Inter-American Dialogue, a Washington, D.C., think tank that tracks immigration-related economic issues, remittances to Latin America and the Caribbean hit $68.3 billion in 2015, topping a 2008 precession record of $64.5 billion. The seven new countries that Remitly now serves are Guatemala, Honduras, El Salvador, and Nicaragua in Central America, along with Columbia, Ecuador, and Peru in South America.

According to Remitly, migrants around the world are looking for new ways to transfer money to their loved ones with the flow of funds topping $600 billion last year.

“Transfers by migrants to their home countries is a proven way to improve the lives of families and support emerging market economies,”Kai Schmitz, who leads IFC’s Fintech investments in Latin America. IFC is a member of the World Bank Group.

Related reading