Wirex, a London-based provider of bitcoin payment cards, closed a $3 million Series A round led by SBI Investment Co., Ltd., the venture arm of Japan's SBI Holdings. The startup will deploy the capita
Wirex, a London-based provider of bitcoin payment cards, closed a $3 million Series A round led by SBI Investment Co., Ltd., the venture arm of Japan's SBI Holdings. The startup will deploy the capital toward building out new product features, securing licensing and platform security, and bankrolling growth across Asia-Pacific.
Pavel Matveev, Wirex's co-founder, said Japan represents one of the company's largest markets. "Japan is a key market for bitcoin-compatible financial products and services, and one of our fastest-growing customer base," Matveev said. "We are delighted to have this strategic partnership with the SBI Group. Together we can push bitcoin adoption in the Asia-Pacific region to the next level."
SBI Investment runs a 30 billion yen Fintech Fund established in 2015 to back emerging companies and technologies in financial services, both in Japan and overseas. The vehicle funded the Wirex investment.
Dmitry Lazarichev, Wirex's other co-founder, explained why the partnership fit. "The SBI Group has a clear vision and in-depth understanding of blockchain and cryptocurrencies," Lazarichev said. "We have been selective in the process of looking for the right investor, and finding the best possible fit is important for us. Our customers will greatly benefit from this collaboration."
The Japan Bank Consortium, operating through SBI Ripple Asia, a subsidiary of SBI Holdings, completed a pilot test of RC Cloud during the same period. RC Cloud is a blockchain-based platform for handling both domestic and cross-border payments. The system runs on the cloud and represents the first interface to allow banks to execute both payment types through a single unified platform using Ripple's infrastructure. The Japan Bank Consortium launched in October 2016 and brings together 47 member banks to develop blockchain applications for finance.
Wirex's core offering combines a hybrid banking platform with prepaid virtual and plastic cards. Customers fund the cards with traditional currencies or cryptocurrency. The app converts digital assets into dollars, euros, or pounds, which users can then spend through the Visa and MasterCard networks for ATM withdrawals and retail purchases.
The startup is pursuing several new directions. It's developing contactless payments enabled by bitcoin, rolling out contactless card technology, adding support for more currencies, and designing new financial products built on bitcoin. Wirex is also pursuing an e-money license in the United Kingdom. By mid-2017, the platform will support exchanges between cryptocurrencies and the Japanese yen.
Over 500,000 customers use Wirex in more than 130 countries. The company maintains offices in London, Tokyo, and Kiev.
