Singapore-based InstaReM, a digital cross-border payments company, is reporting it has just received a USD $13 million investment led by GSR Ventures, with participation from SBI-FMO Ventures, Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings (FFH), and Global Founders Capital (GFC).
InstaReM said it intends to use the funding to build out its global payment infrastructure. InstaRem reports that its platform has grown 8x in volumes since its March 2016 funding. The investment will also be used to boost the employee count of its office in Mumbai where most of the company’s teams are based.
InstaRem was co-founded by Prajit Nanu and Michael Bermingham to set up InstaReM in 2014.
“This fundraising is significant on multiple counts. GSR has a strong network in China and the US whereas SBI-FMO has a strong base in Japan and emerging markets. Jefferson Chen from GSR Ventures now joins the InstaRem board,” commented Nanu.
Chen described InstaRem’s global platform as unique in the industry.
“GSR Ventures is excited to join this journey,” said Chen.
In total InstaReM has now raised over $18 million as a participant in the red hot payments sector. InstaReM’s global payment infrastructure platform targets small and mid-sized banks, payment processors, corporates and individuals to send money across the border at a fraction of the cost compared to other operators. The Fintech said it has the capability to now send payments to 50+ countries with a guaranteed destination amount on the same day. Banks, telcos, mobile wallets and MTOs can access InstaReM’s payment infrastructure at far lower costs enabling them to compete with global players.
InstaRem says it currently holds 8% market share for users remitting to India from Australia. InstaReM will soon be available across all markets in Europe and US in addition to Australia, Singapore, Hong Kong and Canada. The company differentiates its service by speed and service transparency.
“We are excited to partner with the InstaReM team to jointly build the leading regional cross-border digital payments platform. We look forward to plugging InstaReM into our global ecosystem of Fintech and financial service companies,” stated Suramya Gupta, Fund Manager at SBI-FMO Fund.
InstaReM is licensed as a Money Services Business (MSB) in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Canada.