Aspora Closes Three Rounds in 9 Months, As it Reaches $93M in Total Funding
Hey FinTech Fanatic!
The Y Combinator-backed payments startup Aspora, founded by Parth Garg, has raised $93 million, bringing its valuation to $500 million.
Aspora had three funding rounds in under nine months: 🤯
- A $5 million extension in September
- A $35 million round led by Sequoia and Greylock
- And a final $53 million close in May, led by the same pair
Among the backers are some notable names: QuantumLight, the AI-native VC launched by Revolut CEO Nik Storonsky, along with angel investors Balaji Srinivasan (ex-Coinbase CTO), Sundeep Jain (ex-Uber CPO), and Rippling cofounder Prasanna Sankar.
Aspora was previously known as Vance until U.S. ad platforms began misclassifying its content due to the rising profile of Vice President JD Vance. That led the team to rebrand. 👀
The company has also shifted its base, with global operations now anchored in London after relocating from its original headquarters in Bengaluru.
Today, it serves over 250,000 users across the UK, EU, and UAE. The U.S. operations are set to launch in July, followed by Canada, Australia, and Singapore before year-end. What stands out in Aspora’s growth story: over half of its new users join through referrals.
Aspora competes with firms like Remitly and Wise, stepping into a space once tightly held by banks and legacy players like Western Union.
“People use our platform to send money home to their parents, for investments to buy property or invest in alternative assets,” Garg said. “We target communities and social groups of Indians in these countries to popularise our product.”
Read more global FinTech industry updates below 👇 and I'll be back with more tomorrow!
Cheers,
FINTECH NEWS
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🇫🇷 Carrefour Bank prepares to unify cards and move ‘out of shop’. The initiative involves consolidating the different branded cards, Carrefour, Atacadão, and Sam’s Club, into a single product. This unified card will be tailored based on customers’ income and risk profiles, and it will provide benefits across all of the retailer’s brands.
PAYMENTS NEWS
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🇺🇸 View. Click. Buy. PayPal Storefront Ads expand merchant reach across the web. With Storefront Ads, merchants can dramatically broaden their e-commerce reach across the open web, reaching consumers wherever they are, on desktop, mobile, or emerging digital environments.
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🇺🇸 Luxury credit card rivalry heats up as Amex and JPMorgan tease updates to their premier cards. The expectation among industry experts is that both companies will offer ever-longer lists of perks in travel, dining, and experiences like concerts, while potentially raising their annual fees.
🇧🇷 PPRO adds Pix Automático to payments platform. This newest enhancement to Brazil’s instant payment system, Pix, offers consumers an effortless and cost-effective way to manage recurring payments by enabling seamless cross-regional recurring transactions.
🇱🇺 Digital Payment Wallet Wero arrives in Luxembourg. Luxembourgish consumers will have access to EPI’s services via the Wero standalone app, allowing them to make instant account-to-account payments, both within Luxembourg and across borders with Belgium, France, Germany, and subsequently the Netherlands.
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DIGITAL BANKING NEWS
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BLOCKCHAIN/CRYPTO NEWS
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🇸🇬 Bybit targets Q3 launch of new Solana-based DEX Byreal. It aims to release its new Solana-based decentralized exchange, Byreal, with a testnet version coming out at the end of June. Byreal was designed with RFQ (Request for Quote) and CLMM (Concentrated Liquidity Market Maker) routing.
🇺🇸 Tron is looking to go public in the U.S. Tron will go public via a reverse merger with Nasdaq-listed SRM Entertainment. The deal is being managed by Dominari Securities, an investment firm with ties to the Trump family. Continue reading
🇻🇳 Digital assets are legalized in Vietnam. The country has officially legalized digital assets with the approval of the Law on Digital Technology Industry by the National Assembly, the country's legislature. Under the new law, digital assets are categorized into two types: virtual assets and crypto assets.
🇸🇬 Interlace launches white-label card solutions to power personalized enterprise payments. A white-label card allows enterprises to customize their design, such as adding a brand logo or tailoring the card appearance, giving their bank cards a distinct and branded look.
🇹🇭 KuCoin launches SEC-Licensed crypto exchange in Thailand. The platform is licensed by Thailand’s Securities and Exchange Commission and is now available to all eligible users after an initial invite-only phase. Keep reading
PARTNERSHIPS
🌍 Klarna in collaboration with Norwegian Vipps Mobilepay, which means that Vipps Mobilepay is integrated as a payment method through Klarna both in the app and stores in Norway, Denmark, and Finland. Read more
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🌎 Mastercard onboards customers up to four times faster with Cloud Edge. Cloud Edge offers customers cost efficiency as well as greater choice, speed, and flexibility. For instance, FinTechs can serve customers easily during demand spikes like national holidays or sales events without needing more physical infrastructure.
🇦🇪 Jingle Pay collaborates with Western Union to power and enable the delivery of international money transfers (remittances) from select markets. Jingle Pay will serve as a key partner for Western Union, providing support to the flow of cross-border money transfers currently to bank accounts & mobile wallets.
🇬🇧 RiseUp and Salt Edge join forces to bridge financial insights and payments with open banking. By partnering with Salt Edge, RiseUp is doing just that. UK businesses will receive a richer financial experience and a deeper understanding of their customers’ financial behaviours.
🇬🇧 ClearScore and Oakbrook partner on debt consolidation loans. With this broader partnership and integrating ClearScore’s newly developed ‘Clearer’ technology, loans will now come with a direct settlement option, whereby outstanding debts are paid straight to creditors on the borrower’s behalf.
🇪🇺 ConnectPay partners with InSoil for EU expansion. The integration will allow InSoil users to access features such as personal IBAN accounts, multi-currency settlements, and digital wallets. Users will also be able to reinvest funds without topping up accounts manually.
🇹🇿 CRDB Bank migrates card systems to BPC's SmartVista platform. The platform features multi-card issuance capabilities, including corporate and virtual cards, as well as acquiring services for processing transactions across POS networks, cardless withdrawals, and foreign exchange (FX) at ATMs, among others.
DONEDEAL FUNDING NEWS
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🇳🇬 Nigerian agri-FinTech Winich Farms secures Pre-Series A funding. With this new capital, Winich plans to strengthen its operations, empower more farmers, and explore expansion opportunities both across Africa and into the MENA region. Read more
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M&A
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MOVERS AND SHAKERS
🇮🇳 FamApp co-founder Kush Taneja to step down, in talks to sell stake. Taneja’s exit comes amid an overhaul at FamApp, which has restructured operations, shifted away from its teen-focused model, and grappled with funding challenges. Read more
🇺🇸 TreviPay names Matt Dewell as new Chief Information Security Officer. Dewell will work to establish security as a true competitive advantage within the firm's suite of solutions. These offerings include payment processing, credit and risk management, invoicing, automated accounts receivable, and collection management services.
🇬🇧 MoneyGram names Lamia Pardo its Chief Marketing Officer. In this role, Pardo will lead global marketing across all channels and markets, with a clear mandate to accelerate sustainable growth by scaling customer acquisition, increasing retention, and strengthening long-term loyalty.
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