(Reuters) – Singapore-based business payments firm Nium raised more than $200 million in fresh funds in a round led by tech investor Riverwood Capital, it said on Monday, as it joined the “unicorn” club of startups valued at more than $1 billion.
Including the latest round, which also saw participation from Singapore state investor Temasek Holdings, payments processor Visa Inc and venture capital firm Vertex Ventures, Nium said it had raised nearly $300 million in capital so far.
Nium said the funds will be used to expand its network infrastructure, drive product development and purchase new technologies and companies.
Funds raised will also help in speeding up Nium’s growth in the United States and Latin America, the company said.
Financial technology, or “fintech”, firms like Nium have seen demand for their products and services grow as the world increasingly shifts away from traditional, brick-and-mortar modes of banking, a trend accelerated by the COVID-19 pandemic.
Launched as Instarem in 2014, Nium gives businesses access to technologies for issuing cards and allowing banking transactions besides making and receiving cross-border payments.
It processes $8 billion annually in payments and has issued more than 30 million virtual cards so far, the company said, adding that it saw a near four-fold increase in year-on-year revenue.
(Reporting by Sohini Podder; Editing by Saumyadeb Chakrabarty)
