Grey, a FinTech focused on simplifying sending and receiving foreign payments for Africans, has secured $2m in seed funding.
The funding round saw participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, True Culture Fund as well as a number of angel investors.
Grey claims the service it offers enables customers to have virtual international bank accounts for free and enjoy a seamless foreign payment process.
With Grey, users can create a foreign USD, GBP and EUR bank account for free, send money to the UK and Europe and receive payments from over 88 countries. The company also offers conversion directly to a users’ local currency so that they can spend it easily on the app, as well as allow users to receive foreign payments in their preferred foreign currency and withdraw directly to mobile money on their local bank account.
Grey intends to use the new funding to launch into new markets and extend their product suite to include not just remittances but also person-to-person and business-to-business payments so every African can enjoy seamless cross-border payments with low fees.
The company has also recently announced its expansion into East Africa, beginning in the Kenyan market.
Grey CEO Ideorenyin Obong said, “Grey was founded in 2021 to empower people to live a location-independent lifestyle. I believe that the least of your worries as a freelancer, remote worker, or digital nomad should be sending or receiving payments, so we’ve made it easy. We like to say that we’re on a mission to make international payments as easy as sending an email. We want to do impactful work to improve how Africa as a continent interacts with money across its borders. I am delighted that we’ve acquired an extensive and fiercely loyal user base.”
Grey COO Femi Aghedo added, “Sending money worldwide is not just an individual problem; it affects African businesses too. Over the last two months, we’ve onboarded several African businesses to our private beta. Honestly, when I listen to the feedback about how much we’ve simplified a previously complex process, it pushes us to do more.”
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