This startup wants to help Asian Americans send money back home

Remitly, a US-based startup helping Asian immigrants to wire money home, has raised US$12.5 million in a series B round, taking its total funding to US$23 million. The round was led by venture capital firm DFJ, which has Baidu, Twitter, and Tesla in its investment portfolio. Existing investors, including Bezos Expeditions, the investment firm of Amazon founder Jeff Bezos, also participated. For Asians in the US, sending money home can be a real problem. The usual channels like banks and Western Union take hefty cuts in money transfer across borders. A World Bank report (PDF link) says the global average cost of transferring money is over 8 percent of the remittance amount. Asians are the worst affected by this, as the largest share of the world’s remittances comes to India (US$71 billion), followed by China (US$64 billion), and the Philippines (US$28 billion). A Remitly spokesperson tells Tech in Asia that “it averages a 2 percent fee, while the rest of the industry averages a 7.9 percent fee.” It also tries to make money transfer more convenient with a mobile-first approach, offering apps for both iOS and Android.