Grey, a fintech started by two Nigerians to simplify sending and receiving foreign payments for Africans, has raised $2 million in seed funding. The service offered by Grey enables its customers to have virtual international bank accounts for free and enjoy a seamless foreign payment process.
In addition to the funding announcement, Grey also announced its expansion into East Africa, starting with Kenya, and partnerships with payments giant Cellulant and ed-tech leader Moringa.
Nigeria’s Grey Raises $2M for Cross-border Payments Play and Regional Expansion
Grey was established in July 2020 by Idorenyin Obong and Femi Aghedo as a rapid exchange service to assist Nigerians in converting foreign dollars in their domiciliary accounts into local currency, the naira. The firm received an unknown pre-seed investment last year, and in March it was accepted into YC’s winter batch. Idorenyin Obong, CEO of Grey, says,
“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.”
He also added,
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.”
You may send money to the UK and Europe using Grey, open a free international USD, GBP, and EUR bank account and accept payments from more than 88 nations. In order to make it simple for you to spend money on the app, the firm also provides conversion directly to your local currency. Users of Grey are able to accept international payments in the currency of their choice and make withdrawals right to their local bank account or mobile money.
Grey claims to have about 100,000 individual users, and since the beginning of the year, its transaction volumes have increased by 200%. COO Aghedo said the company privately launched a business-focused product, Grey Business, to complement this consumer-facing growth and extend its product beyond remittances and person-to-person payments.
The company has also privately launched Grey Business with several companies. COO Femi Aghedo says,
“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.”
Grey’s seed funding round included participation from Y Combinator, Soma Capital, Heirloom Fund, True Culture Fund, angel investors Alan Rutledge, Samvit Ramadurgam, and Karthik Ramakrishnan, and other high-profile investors.
According to the CEO, Idorenyin Obong, with this new round of capital, they plan 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.