Singapore's InstaRem raises $20m

Telkom and Kasikornbank invested via their respective VC arms, MDI Ventures and Beacon Venture Capital. Other participants include GSR Ventures, Rocket Internet, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, and SBI-FMO Fund, a joint venture between Japan’s SBI Group and Dutch development bank FMO. 

It represents the first close in a round targeting a $45 million raise by January 2019 that would bring total funding to $63 million. The capital will be used to expand into new markets, including Japan and Indonesia, while launching new consumer and enterprise products next year. The company is planning to IPO in 2021. 

“With Indonesia’s fintech sector experiencing peak levels of growth, we believe that it is the ideal time for fintech companies, such as InstaReM, to focus on expansion throughout the country,” Nicko Widjaja, CEO of MDI Ventures, said in a statement. “As part of our thesis at MDI Ventures, we are keen to support InstaReM with their expansion in Indonesia and ASEAN through strategic partnership with various Telkom business units around the region.”

InstaRem offers cross-border payments services, including remittance and multi-currency transactions, to financial institutions, companies, and individual consumers. The company claims to facilitate faster and lower-cost transfers than Western Union and PayPal by leveraging a next-generation technology platform and a “unique payment mesh.”

Operations began in Australia in 2015 and now encompass 40 countries with a focus on Southeast Asia. GSR led a $13 million Series B last year with support from SBI-FMO, Vertex, Fullerton Financial Holdings, and Global Founders Capital. This followed a $5 million Series A from Vertex, Fullerton, and Global Founders.

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• Topics
• Southeast Asia
• Financials
• Technology
• Expansion
• Singapore
• Indonesia
• GSR Ventures
• Rocket Internet
• Temasek Holdings
• SBI Holdings
• FMO
• Financial Services