TransferWise raises $280 million capital from a clutch of investors

TransferWise, the international money transfer company and one of Europe’s better-known unicorns, has raised $280 million in a Series E round led by asset management firm Old Mutual Global Investors, and Silicon Valley VC firm IVP. Other new investors which took part the deal is Silicon Valley’s Sapphire Ventures, Japanese company Mitsui & Co, Ltd, and U.S.-Japan venture firm World Innovation Lab. The deal values the startup at $1.6 billion, and part of it includes some secondary share dealings, meaning that not all the cash will register on its balance sheet.

The company commented that “The new investment includes some employees partly cashing in but said that the main aim of what is undoubtedly a very big round is to provide TransferWise with a healthier balance sheet as it pursues existing and new opportunities. These include continued global expansion, with a particular focus on the APAC region, where the company now has a dedicated hub, and further development of its Borderless account”. A consumer version, including a TransferWise debit card, is set to launch in the U.K. and Europe in early 2018. That will undoubtedly give further rise to TransferWise being compared to newer fintech upstarts, such as Revolut or a plethora of bona-fide challenger banks.