Instarem operates a cross-border payments platform that moves money between countries in Asia and beyond, positioning itself more toward banks as customers than purely consumers. The company covers 50 countries and maintains offices in Singapore, Mumbai, Lithuania, London and Seattle. It has a partnership with Ripple for xRapid and a deal with Visa that will enable prepaid debit card issuance to consumers in 25 countries. Instarem plans to expand into Latin America with a regional office and to pursue money-transfer licenses in markets such as Japan and Indonesia. Management has signaled a longer-term exit strategy via an IPO targeted for 2021 and has previously declined acquisition offers. To date the company has raised $59.5 million from investors. Instarem is a Singapore-based cross-border payments fintech that works with banks and other financial institutions to lower the cost of overseas transfers. Its enterprise-focused model is described as a 'Transferwise for enterprise', using mid-size banks' existing currency trading relationships rather than a global banking network. Focused primarily on Southeast Asia, Instarem services over 50 markets and also offers a consumer service, though banks are its primary target. It has offices in Singapore, Mumbai and Lithuania and is opening a presence in Seattle as it broadens into Latin America and Europe; it is awaiting payment licenses in Japan and Indonesia. The company was described as four years old and is pursuing additional products and partnerships, including a near-term Visa-branded prepaid card deal. CEO Prajit Nanu said the team is considering an IPO (target moved from 2020 to 2021) and has received an acquisition approach earlier this year. InstaReM is a Singapore-based cross-border digital payments company that powers fast, low-cost transfers to more than 50 countries and serves financial institutions, SMEs and individuals. Founded in 2014 and led by CEO Prajit Nanu, the company is licensed as a Money Services Business in Singapore, Hong Kong, Australia and Canada. It uses a digital payments platform to enable cross-border payments and is implementing a new payment system to reduce Euro transfer times from 24 hours to under 10 seconds across 34 member countries. In May 2017 InstaReM raised US$13M in a Series B round led by GSR Ventures, bringing total funding to more than US$18M to date. The company plans to use the proceeds to build global payment infrastructure, develop new products and pursue licensing activities in Europe and the United States. InstaRem is a Singapore-headquartered international remittance payments startup focused on lowering fees and speeding cross-border transfers across Asia. Its service typically charges less than one percent in fees and aims to complete transactions within one day or same-day. The company began by serving Australia and captured roughly 2% of the Australia-to-India payments corridor in just over a year. Average transaction size is about $1,800, 60% of customers are repeat traders, and 80% of new accounts make a transfer within five days of registering. Customers include individuals and SMEs (about 20% of its base), with SMEs valuing faster settlement for cash-flow reasons. InstaRem holds licenses in Australia, Hong Kong and Canada and is applying for licenses in Singapore, Malaysia, Japan, Luxembourg and several U.S. states. It has offices in Sydney, Singapore, Mumbai and New Jersey, about 20 staff, and is targeting $100M per month in volumes while developing products for unbanked South Asian populations and services for banks.

Total raised

$79M

Funding rounds

4

Latest round

Series C

Latest activity

Mar 2019