Rebtel’s new digital bank for migrants lands $8m
Swedish tech firm Rebtel has secured $8 million in funding to add digital banking services to its communication and on-demand work offerings for migrants.
Venture Capital funds Balderton Capital and Index Ventures are – together with other existing owners – responsible for the new injection of funding.
“When moving to a new country whether it be for work, love, or a new beginning, many migrants don’t have the credit or financial history to get up and running. We hope to ease the barriers to migrants’ success and help them prosper wherever they land,” says Magnus Larson, CEO of Rebtel.
Rebtel has raised, in total combined with the existing funding, $16 million for its new banking endeavour. The new digital banking offering will come to market in Q4 of 2018.
Its goal will be to provide the nearly 50% of unbanked migrants around the world with an accessible option to build a financial life and history in the new country.
Rebtel has activists embedded in local communities, who claim to be able to overcome the trust problem that can come with digital banking. The upcoming bank also says that its existing established ecosystem of services makes digital banking the natural next step in its expansion.
