Young fintech company Revolut has raised £1.5m in a funding round led by leading tech VC house Balderton Capital, the parties have announced.
The money will be used to launch the business’s money transfer app on iOS and Android in the near future. It will initially be free for 12 months after launching. Balderton, the firm behind the funding round, already have a hugely impressive portfolio of European tech companies including Nutmeg, Zopa and Crowdcube.
Revolut is the latest fintech start-up looking to provide an alternative to traditional banking services in the foreign money transfer space. With the cost of spending and sending money abroad from the UK in 2015 estimated to hit $1.67bn, a raft of companies are looking to follow successful young businesses such as TransferWise in the alternative money services space.
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Once a customer downloads the free Revolut app, they are able to set up an account and order a free multi-currency MasterCard in a matter of seconds. The card can be used abroad with no fees when customers spend or withdraw cash from an ATM.
Nikolay Storonsky of Revolut said the company has “an ambition to change the way money is transacted, sent and spent around the world”.
“We are proud and delighted to introduce the world’s best-value digital currency exchange service. The app and card are intuitive to use, free for all and offer customers the peace of mind that, with Revolut, you can use your money across borders at unbeatable value,” he continued.
Balderton Capital general partner Daniel Waterhouse added that the firm was attracted by the huge “addressable market” Revolut has at its feet.
“Of course, eradicating hidden costs for travellers is a big part of what they do, but Revolut’s app has a myriad of applications,” he continued.
“Those who own property abroad, companies that pay foreign workers, and those sending wages across borders all stand to benefit. We are delighted to invest in Revolut as they have an exceptionally bright team, and they’re solving a major pain-point that the banks have ignored, and they’re doing it with an extremely elegant, mobile-first user-interface.”
