ICYMI fintech funding round-up: Resal, Skyfire, Waza, Revenew and more
At FinTech Futures, we know that it can be easy to let funding announcements slip you by in this fast-paced industry. That’s why we put together our weekly In Case You Missed It (ICYMI) funding round-up so you can get the latest funding news.
Sling Money secures $15 million Series A
US-based global money transfer fintech Sling Money has bagged a $15 million Series A round led by Union Square Ventures, Slow Ventures, and Ribbit Capital.
Founded in 2022, Sling Money’s platform allows users to instantly send money to over 50 countries.
The service leverages Pax Dollar (USDP), a US dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company, enabling conversion between fiat currency and USDP within the Sling app.
Its latest cash infusion builds on its earlier $5 million seed round led by Ribbit Capital in 2023.
Saudi fintech Resal has secured a $9 million investment round to expand its presence in the country.
Founded in 2016, Resal specialises in digital services that link merchants with businesses and individuals. Its platform facilitates the management and exchange of loyalty points, vouchers, and prepaid cards from a variety of organisations, including airlines, banks, and telecom companies.
The company plans to use the funds to broaden its partner network and launch new technology products focused on alternative payment solutions, rewards, and loyalty programmes.
The investment round saw participation from Al-Wafrah AlThanya Investment Company, Bugshan Investment Group, Derayah Ventures Fund, Venture Souq FinTech Fund, ADDiriyah Asset Management, Nomad Holdings, and several angel investors and family offices.
Skyfire lands $8.5 million
AI-powered payment processing firm Skyfire has raised $8.5 million from a consortium of investors.
The round featured participation from Arrington Capital, Ripple, Brevan Howard Digital, Crossbeam Venture Partners, Neuberger Berman, Inception Capital, RedBeard Ventures, Intersection Growth Partners, DRW, Sfermion, Circle, FBG, Draper Associates, ARCA, Gemini, and EveryRealm.
The San Francisco-headquartered start-up used the funding announcement to unveil its AI-driven payments network. It says the network facilitates fully autonomous transactions between AI agents, service providers, data platforms, large language models (LLMs), and various other services.
“AI agents are a brand new customer base for businesses and a game-changing opportunity. Agentic AI commerce will surpass every payment innovation we’ve known, from credit cards to PayPal,” says Amir Sarhangi, CEO and co-founder of Skyfire.
Waza, a New York-based B2B payment and liquidity platform, has bagged $8 million in equity and debt funding.
The funding encompasses a $3 million seed equity round from Byld Ventures, Heirloom VC, Norrsken Africa, Plug and Play Tech Center, Olive Tree Capital, Y Combinator, and others.
$5 million in debt funding has been secured from Nigerian investor Timon Capital and will be “strategically invested in piloting trade financing for their large enterprise clients, an additional $371 billion market in Africa”, according to Waza.
Waza, which launched in January 2023, is focused on helping African merchants pay suppliers around the world. Since its inception, the company claims to have processed over $700 million in annualised payment volume.
Revenew bags $4.55 million
US-based paytech Revenew has emerged from stealth with a $4.55 million funding round led by Los-Angeles venture capital firm Fika Ventures.
The fundraise also saw participation from Dash Fund and TTV Capital.
Co-founded by Nicholas Thomson and Ben Foster, who met while working at London-based payments solution provider Checkout.com, Revenew offers an operating system that businesses can leverage to manage and optimise existing payment stacks.
According to a report by Sifted, the start-up intends to provide its flagship product, Clarity, for free, with a paid Pro version that includes tools which enable users to implement improvements identified by the platform.
Indianapolis-based fintech Your Money Line has secured a $4.5 million Series A investment round.
The round was led by Allos Ventures with participation from CareSource, First Trust Capital Partners, and Elevate Ventures.
David Kerr, MD at Allos Ventures, and Mark Kroeger, SVP at First Trust Capital Partners, have also joined the company’s board.
Founded in 2017, Your Money Line looks to improve employee financial wellness by blending AI-driven software with live coaching to “guide participants to greater financial stability and confidence”.
The funding has been earmarked to further enhance the firm’s financial wellness platform. The company also plans to expand its workforce in H2 2024, adding talent in financial coaching, client success, engineering, product development, and sales.
TransBnk secures $4 million
TransBnk, an India-based transaction banking platform, has bagged a $4 million Series A funding round.
The round was co-led by Accion Venture Lab and 8i Ventures, with additional support from Force Ventures, GMO Venture Partners, Ratio Ventures, angel investors, and a group of family offices.
Founded in 2022, the start-up provides the rails on which traditional and modern BFSI firms can develop new applications for business categories including payments, onboarding, and lending.
TransBnk will leverage its cash injection to enhance its technology infrastructure, broaden its product range, expand its banking partner network, and grow its global presence, setting its sights on the Middle East and Southeast Asia.
The funds add to the firm’s $1 million seed round raised last year.
