Currency converter WeSwap has raised $7.5m as it hopes to undercut the banks and roll-out into new markets across the globe.
The London-based startup uses a peer-to-peer system to let users transfer currencies and takes a 1% fee from every transaction.
The investment comes from IW Capital and EC1 Capital as well as existing shareholders.
Better exchange rates
Like some of its competitors (most notably TransferWise), WeSwap says that it provides better rates for the exchange of currencies than the banks do.
Users pay into their WeSwap account from their banks. It is then converted to the currency they need and WeSwap sends them a MasterCard from which the funds can be used.
The main difference between WeSwap and Transferwise is the destination of the money. TransferWise send the money directly to a foreign bank account as opposed to a card.
While WeSwap charges 1% of each transfer TransferWise charges 0.5%, and competitor TransferGo charges a flat fee of £2.50 up to a transaction limit of £5,000.
WeWant transparency
Jared Jesner, Founder & CEO, believes WeSwap is ideal for the modern traveller and says the investment will lead to greater transparency in the market:
The investment allows us to accelerate our growth across more international markets and to continue to bring great value and transparency to a market that has long suffered from opaque, confusing propositions.
WeSwap currently operates in 6 currencies but expect to be in 16 by the end of the year.