Azimo
 | |
| Company type | Private company |
|---|---|
| Industry | Financial technology |
| Founded | 2012 |
| Founders | Michael Kent, Marta Krupinska, Ricky Knox, Marek Wawro |
| Headquarters | Amsterdam (previously London) , The Netherlands (previously United Kingdom) |
Area served | Europe (sending); worldwide (receiving) |
Key people | Michael Kent (Founder, CEO) |
| Services | Money transfer |
| Website | azimo.com |
Azimo is an online remittance service headquartered in Amsterdam, The Netherlands, with offices in Kraków, Poland.[1] Its primary competitors include the fintech startups WorldRemit and Remitly.[2]
History
Azimo was founded in October 2012 in London, United Kingdom.[3] Its co-founders were Michael Kent, Marta Krupinska, Ricky Knox, and Marek Wawro. CEO Michael Kent had also founded the Small World Financial Services Group in 2005, which is now a major European money transfer provider.
Azimo moved to The Netherlands due to the Brexit.[4]
Operations
Azimo offers money transfers to 190 receiving countries in over 80 different currencies. The company has half a million customers connected to its platform and offers more than 270,000 cash pick-up locations globally.[5] In 2016, an updated version of its app was launched with features including in-app chat and biometric security.
As of October 2019, sending countries are limited to Europe.
Funding
As of early 2016, Azimo had raised $31 million in Series A and B funding[6] from investors including Frog Capital, Greycroft, MCI.TechVentures, e.ventures and Quona Capital. In May 2016, Japanese e-commerce company Rakuten invested in Azimo to accelerate the company's expansion into Asia.[7][8][9]
References
- ^ "Azimo offers a cheaper way to send money home". The Washington Post. November 24, 2014. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ "Money Transfer Startups: race against time?". Save on Send. August 29, 2019. Retrieved October 10, 2019.
- ^ Lunn, Emma; Collinson, Patrick (April 12, 2013). "10 of the best money-saving apps". The Guardian. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ (in Dutch) https://www.fundwijzer.nl/europese-investeringsbank-steunt-uitgeweken-brits-bedrijf-azimo
- ^ Wall, Matthew (March 23, 2015). "Money may make the world go round, but at what cost?". BBC News. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ Ahmed, Murad. "Remittances group Azimo raises $20m on valuation of $100m". Financial Times. Retrieved 4 May 2016.
- ^ Kharpal, Arjun (5 May 2016). "Azimo, a remittances start-up, raised $15M from Rakuten to expand into Asia". CNBC. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ Williams-Grut, Oscar (5 May 2016). "International money transfer app Azimo raises $15 million from Japan's Rakuten to crack Asia". Business Insider UK. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
- ^ Lunden, Ingrid (5 May 2016). "Remittance startup Azimo raises $15M from Viber owner, e-commerce giant Rakuten". TechCrunch. Retrieved 5 May 2016.
