Brazilian fintech Remessa Online, for international transfers, announces the receipt of an investment of 110 million reais in the middle of a pandemic. The investment round was led by Kaszek Ventures (Nubank, QuintoAndar) and investor Kevin Efrusy, from the American Accel fund.
The startup, created in 2016 to allow individuals to send money abroad simply and cheaply, intends to use the investment to invest in its newly created corporate area, focused on small and medium-sized companies.
“We are focusing on investing in the corporate segment, bringing a platform that makes it possible to make the entire registration process digitally. We will also seek to expand investments in marketing ”, says Alexandre Liuzzi, co-founder and strategy director of Remessa Online.
With the investment, Hernan Kazah, co-founder of Mercado Livre and Kaszek, will join the board of fintech, which already has names like André Penha, co-founder of the Fifth Floor, and Fabio Armaganijan, former director of operations for Kraft Heinz.
Kazah says that Remessa Online caught Kaszek's attention for acting in a niche market that is still poorly served. "The current crisis is accelerating the digitalization of various sectors around the world and Remessa Online is at the forefront of this movement, transforming and revolutionizing the international transfer market in Brazil, especially for small and medium-sized companies", says the executive.
British fintech TransferWise operates in the same segment as Remessa, which recently obtained a license from the Central Bank to act as a foreign exchange broker in Brazil. The idea is that, from now on, TransferWise will offer new products and services here, in addition to getting lower rates.
The company arose from the friendship of more than twenty years of Alexandre Liuzzi and Fernando Pavani. The friends met in college and followed a career in the financial market until they decided to undertake together in 2015. Liuzzi says he saw an opportunity in the international transfer market when he studied abroad and needed to make international remittances. "He almost always received 15% less than he had sent," he says.
With Stefano Milo and Márcio William, friends launched the business in 2016 with their own capital. In 2017, the company received an investment from Marcelo Maisonnave, former partner of XP Investimentos. With the money, little by little, the Remittance included more service options for customers, such as the possibility of investing abroad and automating recurring payments, such as rent.
In 2018, with the series A round of around 20 million reais, the startup started investing in its own process development structure. “This made our experience much better, moving from NPS 70 to 91,” says Liuzzi. At the end of 2019, the company launched Remessa for Business, focused on serving small businesses.
The coronavirus crisis accelerated the product for legal entities. Unable to be served by large banks, small companies sought alternatives to process their international payments. With the rise in the dollar, many of them saw an opportunity to expand the market and export more. In the period, Remessa Online achieved a growth of around 90% in the year-over-year comparison, driven mainly by the business service.
Since its creation, fintech has already traded more than 10 billion reais. The company charges a one-time fee of 1.3% per transaction. According to the partners, lower costs than traditional financial institutions are possible thanks to gains in agility and efficiency in digital operation. “Half of our employees are on the product team, which reduces the need for redundant processes and reduces inefficiency,” says Liuzzi. In all, the startup employs 200 people.
Remessa Online's plan is to continue adding services to the platform, so that customers can manage their entire international life with the help of the startup. The strategy director believes that the pandemic, by stimulating the home office, will cause a wave of internationalization of work in the future, forcing companies to serve the client wherever he is. “We want to be a global financial services hub for customers,” says Liuzzi.
Brazilian fintech Remessa Online, for international transfers, announces the receipt of an investment of 110 million reais in the middle of a pandemic. The investment round was led by Kaszek Ventures (Nubank, QuintoAndar) and investor Kevin Efrusy, from the American Accel fund.
The startup, created in 2016 to allow individuals to send money abroad simply and cheaply, intends to use the investment to invest in its newly created corporate area, focused on small and medium-sized companies.
“We are focusing on investing in the corporate segment, bringing a platform that makes it possible to make the entire registration process digitally. We will also seek to expand investments in marketing ”, says Alexandre Liuzzi, co-founder and strategy director of Remessa Online.
With the investment, Hernan Kazah, co-founder of Mercado Livre and Kaszek, will join the board of fintech, which already has names like André Penha, co-founder of the Fifth Floor, and Fabio Armaganijan, former director of operations for Kraft Heinz.
Kazah says that Remessa Online caught Kaszek's attention for acting in a niche market that is still poorly served. "The current crisis is accelerating the digitalization of various sectors around the world and Remessa Online is at the forefront of this movement, transforming and revolutionizing the international transfer market in Brazil, especially for small and medium-sized companies", says the executive.
British fintech TransferWise operates in the same segment as Remessa, which recently obtained a license from the Central Bank to act as a foreign exchange broker in Brazil. The idea is that, from now on, TransferWise will offer new products and services here, in addition to getting lower rates.
The company arose from the friendship of more than twenty years of Alexandre Liuzzi and Fernando Pavani. The friends met in college and followed a career in the financial market until they decided to undertake together in 2015. Liuzzi says he saw an opportunity in the international transfer market when he studied abroad and needed to make international remittances. "He almost always received 15% less than he had sent," he says.
With Stefano Milo and Márcio William, friends launched the business in 2016 with their own capital. In 2017, the company received an investment from Marcelo Maisonnave, former partner of XP Investimentos. With the money, little by little, the Remittance included more service options for customers, such as the possibility of investing abroad and automating recurring payments, such as rent.
In 2018, with the series A round of around 20 million reais, the startup started investing in its own process development structure. “This made our experience much better, moving from NPS 70 to 91,” says Liuzzi. At the end of 2019, the company launched Remessa for Business, focused on serving small businesses.
The coronavirus crisis accelerated the product for legal entities. Unable to be served by large banks, small companies sought alternatives to process their international payments. With the rise in the dollar, many of them saw an opportunity to expand the market and export more. In the period, Remessa Online achieved a growth of around 90% in the year-over-year comparison, driven mainly by the business service.
Since its creation, fintech has already traded more than 10 billion reais. The company charges a one-time fee of 1.3% per transaction. According to the partners, lower costs than traditional financial institutions are possible thanks to gains in agility and efficiency in digital operation. “Half of our employees are on the product team, which reduces the need for redundant processes and reduces inefficiency,” says Liuzzi. In all, the startup employs 200 people.
Remessa Online's plan is to continue adding services to the platform, so that customers can manage their entire international life with the help of the startup. The strategy director believes that the pandemic, by stimulating the home office, will cause a wave of internationalization of work in the future, forcing companies to serve the client wherever he is. “We want to be a global financial services hub for customers,” says Liuzzi.