- UK-based money transfer service receives millions in Series C funding led by Rakuten Capital
- Investment takes Azimo to more than $50m in total capital to date
- Cash infusion should help firm reach profitability in the next year
Azimo, a British money transfer service, has just announced $20m in Series C funding from the investment group of Japan's largest e-commerce firm.
The capital investment was led by Japanese firm Rakuten Capital, with additional contributions from Silicon Valley Bank, Frog Capital, Greycroft Partners, Quona Capital, GR Capital Partners and MCI.
In total, Azimo has to date raised more than $50m in capital.
According to Rakuten Capital officials, their funding was motivated by Azimo's industry-leading technology and the money transfer firm's ability to deliver efficiency and support rapid growth.
"Customer acquisition costs have dropped by two-thirds since we first got involved," said Oskar Mielczarek de la Miel, Rakuten Capital managing partner.
The capital infusion is expected to bring UK-based Azimo to sustained profitability within the next year.
This latest fundraising success is not the first time Azimo has benefit from Rakuten Capital investments. In 2016, Rakuten gave Azimo $15m to aid in the transfer service's expansion across Asia.
Azimo is an international money transfer service headquartered in the UK with its technology hub in Poland. The firm is one of a number of digital financial startups challenging conventional money transfer services like MoneyGram and Western Union by offering consumers cheaper, faster ways to send funds abroad.
The British remittance provider has more than doubled the value of its transaction volume over the last year and currently facilitates payments in more than 190 receiver countries across the globe. Roughly 1.5 million customers use the Azimo platform to send cross-border payments, and the firm administers more than $1bn in transactions annually.
