Fintech Startup InstaReM Raises Series C Funding for Asia Expansion The latest round of funding was led by Singapore's Vertex Growth Fund and supported by new investor Atinum Investment
By Komal Nathani •
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Singapore-based digital cross-border payments company InstaReM has closed $58 million in Series C funding with an aim to expand its presence in Asia Pacific.
Backed by marquee investors like Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings, Global Founders Capital, GSR ventures and SBI-FOMO Ventures, InstaReM is one of Australia's fastest growing fintech startups. The latest round of funding was led by Singapore's Vertex Growth Fund and supported by new investor Atinum Investment, a leading venture capital investor from South Korea.
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The company plans to use the funds to extend the visa-powered cards platform to fintech companies or startups in Australia, Hong Kong and Malaysia looking to be a part of Singapore's thriving payments and remittances ecosystem. While it generally takes six-to-nine months to acquire a license and develop own payments infrastructure, InstaReM claims to process it in just four weeks to process under the program.
Talking about the latest funding, co-founder and CEO Prajit Nanu said, "Our primary focus is to make moving money internationally, faster and more convenient for our customers. We've built a good relationship with existing investors, and it means they have a lot of confidence in what we're doing. Our goals are quite ambitious, and they support that."
Based in Singapore, InstaReM's biggest client base belongs to Australia. The company is planning to go public, which Nanu and the team expect to happen in 2021.
The new funding will go towards introducing a multi-currency forex card, which will help consumers from Asia Pacific countries to save on unreasonable foreign exchange conversion rates and high charges on expenses while travelling internationally.
The company is also planning to increase headcount in the existing London and Seattle offices, along with plans of expanding its operations to Latin America. After Series C funding, the company's total fundraising will be up to $84 million, which makes InstaReM Singapore's top 10 best-funded fintech companies in Southeast Asia.
In four years of its inception, InstaReM has gained prominence in Southeast Asia's fintech startup ecosystem. The company first launched its services in Australia in 2015, before it launched in Singapore and Hong Kong.
Recently, the company received approval from Malaysia's Central Bank to onboard customers via its electronic know-your-customer process. As InstaReM looks to strengthen its presence in the existing markets, it is pursuing fast growth in Malaysia.
The company claims it can send remittances in over 50 countries, facilitate SME payments in 35 countries and issue cards in 25 countries.
