Digital payments startup InstaReM secures first tranche of Series C round

Singapore-headquartered digital cross-border payments firm InstaReM Pte Ltd has marked the first close of its Series C funding round at over $20 million (around Rs 143.15 crore) led by new investor MDI Ventures and Beacon Venture Capital, a company statement said.

MDI Ventures is the venture capital arm of telecommunications firm Telkom Indonesia and Beacon Venture Capital is the VC division of Thailand’s Kasikornbank.

Existing investors Vertex Ventures, GSR Ventures, Rocket Internet and SBI-FMO Fund also put in money, the statement added.

InstaReM is raising about $45 million (Rs 322 crore) as part of the Series C investment round.

The startup has 131 employees based in its Mumbai office and is registered in India as InstaReM India Pvt. Ltd.

The company expects the close its Series C round in January 2019 in the run up to its expected initial public offering in 2021, the statement said.

InstaReM will use the capital to accelerate its growth in existing markets and enter new markets such as Japan and Indonesia, where it expects to receive licences by the end of 2018. It will also launch a new consumer and enterprise product in 2019, the statement added.

The $45 million Series C investment round will take the total capital raised by the firm to over $63 million (Rs 451 crore).

InstaReM's payments platform helps individual and enterprise customers send money to various destinations via its MassPay product. It is a business payments platform offering bulk and customised payments facility, multi-currency payments and accounts.

In 2018, InstaReM partnered with Ripple to leverage its enterprise blockchain network.

The company has obtained regulatory licenses and approvals in Singapore, Australia, India, Europe, United States, Hong Kong, Canada and Malaysia. It claims to reach out to 3.2 billion customers across over 55 countries worldwide.

InstaReM was co-founded in 2014 by Indian-origin entrepreneur Prajit Nanu and Michael Bermingham. Before setting up the venture, Nanu held stints at financial services firm TMF Group and business process management firm WNS Global Services, while Bermingham was director at US-based trading solutions firm Gain Capital.

“We are still a young firm, but a hungry one, this new round of funding enables us to accelerate growth by launching new products,” Nanu, chief executive of the venture, said in the statement.

Prior to this, in July 2017, InstaReM raised $13 million in a Series B round of funding led by GSR Ventures. SBI-FMO Ventures, Vertex Ventures, Fullerton Financial Holdings and Global Founders Capital had also put in money into the firm. 

In March 2016, the payments company raised $5 million in a Series A funding round led by Vertex Ventures, with participation from Fullerton Financial Holdings and Global Founders Capital.

“By providing the lowest exchange rates among competing services, InstaReM provides significant value to both local and foreign migrant workers looking to transfer funds to their home countries and to local businesses looking to conduct trade with international parties,” said Nicko Widjaja, CEO at MDI Ventures.