- Taptap Send, a cross-border payments platform with a community orientation, has announced a round of Series B seed funding.
- The funding, which was led by a company called Spark Capital, takes the total amount raised by Taptap Send to over $80 million US dollars.
- “With the pandemic pushing more than a hundred million people into extreme poverty and countless others into economic hardship, the importance of capital and the ease of moving it where it’s most needed has rarely been greater,” said a senior figure at Spark Capital.
Taptap Send, a community-oriented finance and cross-border payments platform, has confirmed that it has managed to raise US$65m in Series B funding.
The company said that the money had primarily been raised by a firm called Spark Capital.
It comes alongside contributions from a range of other backers including Canaan Partners and Reid Hoffman.
Slow Ventures, Breyer Capital, Wamda Capital, Flourish Ventures, and a number of other global investors were also represented.
This takes Taptap’s total amount of available funding to over US$80m.
The company provides individual consumers with a way to send money abroad without fees.
It also provides instant cash transfers.
In a statement, Taptap Send’s co-founder and chief executive officer said that the move was happening in the context of the ongoing coronavirus pandemic.
Michael Faye said that the pandemic had led to over a hundred million people falling into serious poverty.
“With the pandemic pushing more than a hundred million people into extreme poverty and countless others into economic hardship, the importance of capital and the ease of moving it where it’s most needed has rarely been greater,” he explained.
Meanwhile, James Kuklinski, a Spark Capital investor, said that Taptap was one of top firms in the sector.
He stated that the firm had explored a wide variety of financial technology companies in the industry before settling on Taptap.
“We’ve looked at a lot of fintech companies in the space, and think Taptap’s team and community-led approach are best in class.”
He also said that the company was “excited” about the development.
“We couldn’t be more excited to be joining them on our mission to bring low-cost, accessible, cross-border financial products to underserved diaspora populations around the world.”
It is understood that the company will use the funds to expand and is expected to approach new diaspora communities.
It is also expected to add value to its product development process.
Press reports indicated that the company intended to hire new staff members as well.
If you’d like to know more about the workings of the online money transfer sector, we’re here to help. Paying a visit to our reviews pages is a great way to find out what the sector can offer you.
