wikipedia:Nium is a Singapore-headquartered Fintech company. Originally founded by Prajit Nanu and Michael Bermingham,.[1] and launched as consumer-remittance platform Instarem in 2014,[2] the company launched its B2B arm in 2016[3] and rebranded itself as Nium in 2019[4], elevating Pratik Gandhi to cofounder in 2021[5]
History
Founders Prajit Nanu and Michael Bermingham developed a solution to provide a transparent service for overseas money transfer[6] with close to live exchange rates. Instarem was incorporated based on the premise of online instant remittances, hence the name Instarem.[7]
By 2017, the company had begun to operate a cross-border payment service targeted at business users, including banks and retailers[8][9]. Subsequently, in 2019, the company rebranded to Nium[10], with Instarem continuing to operate as a wholly-owned consumer service.[11][12][13]
In 2021, the company made its first acquisitions[14]: Wirecard Forex, a payments services company in India,[15] and Ixaris, a travel payments optimization firm.[16] In April 2022, Nium acquired payment platform Socash.[17]
Funding
In January 2015, Global Founders Capital, Germany-based Venture Capital arm of Rocket Internet Founders, invested US$500,000 as seed round of funding in Instarem that helped the company develop its money transfer platform.[18]
In March 2016, Instarem received an investment of US$5 million in Series A from Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India (part of the Vertex Holdings network of funds), Fullerton Financial Holdings and Global Founders Capital, to acquire licenses for money transfer business in other markets.[19][20][21]
July 2017 followed with a Series B round of US$13 million led by GSR ventures, with participation from SBI-FMO Ventures, Vertex Ventures Southeast Asia & India, Fullerton Financial Holdings, and Global Founders Capital.[22][23] This investment was slated to further build its global payment infrastructure by way of increasing its payment corridors from 150 to around 2000.[24]
In November 2018 the company raised a Series C round of over $20 million, directed towards growth in new emerging markets in Latin America as well as Europe.[25]
This was followed by a private equity investment round of over $20 million[26] in May 2020 by BRI Ventures, the corporate venture division of Bank BRI of Indonesia, and Visa.[27]
By July 2021, the company had raised a Series D round[28] of USD$200M,[29][30] led by Riverwood Capital with participation from Temasek, GIC, Visa, Vertex Ventures, Atinum Capital, Beacon Venture Capital and Rocket Capital Investment. The company has since been characterized as a “unicorn.” Its valuation as of February 2022 is estimated at $2bn.[31]
Related
↑ https://www.nium.com/about-us
↑ https://techcollectivesea.com/2020/12/22/from-zero-to-100-the-story-of-nium/
↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielwebber/2022/01/19/nium-inside-b2bs-newest-global-payments-unicorn/?sh=4e26ecec68d9
↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielwebber/2022/01/19/nium-inside-b2bs-newest-global-payments-unicorn/?sh=4e26ecec68d9
↑ https://fintechnews.sg/57802/fintech/nium-recognises-its-coo-pratik-gandhi-as-a-co-founder/
↑ http://anthillonline.com/how-international-money-transfers-ruined-a-bucks-weekend-and-sparked-a-global-startup/
↑ https://www.nium.com/about-us
↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielwebber/2022/01/19/nium-inside-b2bs-newest-global-payments-unicorn/?sh=7507751e68d9
↑ https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/04/instarem-eyes-ipo-in-2020/
↑ https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2019/10/153400-payments-fintech-instarem-rebrands-as-nium/
↑ https://www.pymnts.com/news/payments-innovation/2019/instarem-rebrands-to-nium-launches-open-money-network/
↑ https://techcollectivesea.com/2020/12/22/from-zero-to-100-the-story-of-nium/
↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielwebber/2022/01/19/nium-inside-b2bs-newest-global-payments-unicorn/?sh=7507751e68d9
↑ https://www.businesstimes.com.sg/garage/fintech-nium-eyes-more-ma-deals-on-path-to-ipo
↑ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/tech/startups/singapores-nium-to-acquire-wirecards-forex-unit-in-india/articleshow/84194276.cms?from=mdr
↑ https://www.fintechfutures.com/2021/06/singapore-fintech-nium-acquires-b2b-travel-payments-firm-ixaris/
↑ https://www.pymnts.com/acquisitions/2022/nium-signs-deal-for-acquisition-of-socash/
↑ https://www.vccircle.com/singapore-fintech-startup-instarem-raises-13-mn-to-expand-payment-infrastructure-mumbai-ops
↑ https://techcrunch.com/2016/03/15/instarem-raises-5m-to-make-overseas-money-transfers-cheaper-and-faster-in-asia/
↑ https://www.vccircle.com/singapore-fintech-startup-instarem-raises-13-mn-to-expand-payment-infrastructure-mumbai-ops
↑ https://www.techinasia.com/instarem-raises-5m-from-investors-led-by-vertex-ventures
↑ https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/small-biz/money/singapore-startup-instarem-with-indian-cofounder-raises-13-million/articleshow/59436922.cms
↑ https://techcrunch.com/2017/07/04/instarem-eyes-ipo-in-2020/
↑ https://www.vccircle.com/singapore-fintech-startup-instarem-raises-13-mn-to-expand-payment-infrastructure-mumbai-ops
↑ https://techcrunch.com/2018/11/21/instarem-raises-20m/
↑ https://www.forbes.com/sites/danielwebber/2022/01/19/nium-inside-b2bs-newest-global-payments-unicorn/?sh=4e26ecec68d9
↑ https://www.crowdfundinsider.com/2020/05/161107-fintech-firm-nium-acquires-additional-funding-from-visa-bri-ventures-gsr-ventures-vertex-ventures-others/
↑ https://techcrunch.com/2021/07/26/nium-crosses-1b-valuation-with-200m-riverwood-capital-led-round/
↑ https://www.reuters.com/technology/singaporean-payments-firm-nium-raises-over-200-mln-become-unicorn-2021-07-27/
↑ https://www.bloomberg.com/news/articles/2021-07-27/singapore-fintech-startup-nium-tops-1-billion-valuation
↑ https://www.dealstreetasia.com/stories/nium-valuation-doubles-280726
