Matt Oppenheimer and Josh Hug of Remitly
Matt Oppenheimer and Josh Hug of Remitly

Seattle money transfer startup Remitly continues to reel in cash, most recently scoring a $5.5 million series A deal led by QED. That brings total funding in the company to $10 million, following a $2.6 million round last year led by Trilogy Equity Partners.

In addition to QED and Trilogy, Remitly is backed by Founders Co-Op, TomorrowVentures and Bezos Expeditions.

A TechStars Seattle grad formerly known as BeamIt Mobile, Remitly has created a cheaper and faster method for individuals to send money across borders. The company currently offers money transfers to the Philippines, charging $4.19 to $4.99 for an “express transfer” which takes a few minutes. Transfers of three days are free.

Remitly CEO Matt Oppenheimer declined to say specifically how many transactions it has completed to date or the amount of money transferred, though he said they are “helping thousands of customers transfer millions of dollars each month.” The market is certainly large, with the World Bank estimating that $400 billion is transferred from developed to developing countries each year.

“We’re using this capital to accelerate our global growth and for hiring — primarily marketing, product, and operations,” said Oppenheimer, who declined to discuss future market expansion.

Oppenheimer came up with the idea while overseeing mobile and Internet banking for Barclays Bank Kenya, helping the bank implement a new mobile banking strategy.

QED is based in Virginia, and one of its partners includes Capital One co-founder Nigel Morris. Other investments include Credit Karma, Drive Factor and Braintree.

“We’re excited about QED’s financial technology, operational, and marketing expertise. They share our vision to evolve the remittance industry by building the best mobile remittance platform, one that streamlines the process and makes it more affordable for people to send money,” said Oppenheimer in a release.

Remitly competes against Western Union and Xoom.

Like what you're reading? Subscribe to GeekWire's free newsletters to catch every headline

Job Listings on GeekWork

Find more jobs on GeekWork. Employers, post a job here.