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Dive Brief:
- Paysend, a London-based cross-border payments company formed in 2017, is jumping into the U.S. market, promoting its services to U.S. businesses and consumers via press releases this week. It also opened a U.S. headquarters office in Miami last month, a spokesperson for the company said.
- In launching its U.S. consumer services, Paysend aims to connect with Hispanic consumers and Latinos globally, according to a May 9 press release. To that end, it also entered a partnership with Spanish-language media outlet TelevisaUnivision, which has taken an ownership stake in the company.
- Paysend also aims to appeal to small and mid-sized businesses, pitching its cross-border services for receiving, spending and exchanging money in some 30 currencies, according to a separate May 11 release.
Dive Insight:
Paysend joins a crowded field of cross-border payments competitors that are increasingly tapping new payment rails for faster cross-border services. Offering remittances services for migrants sending payments to family and friends in other countries is where most of the rivals are focusing their services.
Remitly, Ramp and Dandelion are some of the newer players in the arena, but legacy names like MoneyGram and Western Union are souping up services too.
“The U.S/LATAM market is a top priority for Paysend, serving the 62M Hispanic population based in the U.S., representing 20% of the overall population,” the company said in the Tuesday release.
Paysend is also launching its offering for SMBs in the U.S. after having just started such services for its U.K. customers last year. “We know that cross-border payments can be a pain point for many small and medium-sized businesses, and we’re committed to making it simple and affordable for them to manage their finances globally,” Ashley Mallett, Paysend’s head of the business-to-business division, said in the Thursday press release.
The company has started with about 10 employees in the U.S. and plans to double that headcount by next year, the spokesperson said. The new Miami office is led by Jairo Riveros, who is the company’s chief strategy officer and managing director for the U.S. and Latin America.
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