Skip to main content

Looking to emulate Venmo, JoomPay preps a Euro launch for easy bill splitting and cash payments

JoomPay, a startup with a similar product to PayPal-owned Venmo in the U.S., is set to launch in Europe shortly after being granted a Luxembourg Electronic Money Institution (EMI) license. The app allows people to send and receive money with anyone, instantly and for free. “Venmo me” has become a common phrase in the U.S., where people use it to split bills in restaurants or similar instances. Venmo is in common use in the U.S., but it’s not available in Europe, although dozens of other innovative mobile peer to peer transfer options exist, such as Revolut, N26, Monese and Monzo. The waitlist for the app’s beta is open now (iOS, Android).

Europe leads the world’s instant payments industry, with $18 trillion in worldwide volume predicted by 2025, up from $3 trillion in 2020 — a growth of more than 500%. Western Europe — and COVID-19 — is now driving that innovation and will account for 38% of instant payment transaction value by 2025. While Europe lacks simple peer-to-peer payments solutions such as Venmo or Square Cash App in the U.S., challenger banks have stepped up to provide similar kinds of services. JoomPay’s opportunity lies in being able to be a middle-man between these various banking systems.

Shopping app Joom, which has been downloaded 150 million times in Europe, has spun-off JoomPay to solve this problem. The app allows users to send and receive money from any person, regardless of whether they use JoomPay or not — and you only need to know their email or the phone number. JoomPay connects to any existing debit/credit card or a bank account. It also provides its users with a European IBAN and an optional free JoomPay card with cashback and bonuses.

Yuri Alekseev, CEO and co-founder of JoomPay, said: “Since COVID-19 started, we’ve seen a significant decline in cash usage. People can’t meet as easily as before but still need to send money, and we offer a viable alternative.”

JoomPay may have an uphill struggle. Its main competitors in Europe are the huge TransferWise, Paysend and, of course, PayPal itself.



from Startups – TechCrunch https://ift.tt/37ady4O

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Axeleo Capital raises $51 million fund

Axeleo Capital has raised a $51 million fund (€45 million). Axeleo first started with an accelerator focused on enterprise startups. The firm is now all grown up with an acceleration program and a full-fledged VC fund. The accelerator is now called Axeleo Scale , while the fund is called Axeleo Capital . And it’s important to mention both parts of the business as they work hand in hand. Axeleo picks up around 10 startups per year and help them reach the Series A stage. If they’re doing well over the 12 to 18 months of the program, Axeleo funds those startups using its VC fund. Limited partners behind the company’s first fund include Bpifrance through the French Tech Accélération program, the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes region, Vinci Energies, Crédit Agricole, BNP Paribas, Caisse d’Épargne Rhône-Alpes as well as various business angels and family offices. The firm is also partnering with Hi Inov, the holding company of the Dentressangle family. Axeleo will take care of the early stage in...

Puls raises $50 million for in-home technical support

A fund affiliated with the Singaporean government has a great interest in making sure that American consumers are getting the tech support they need. Temasek, the multi-billion-dollar investment fund associated with the government in Singapore, has led a $50 million round for  Puls Technologies, Inc. , a San Francisco-based company aiming to be the tech support for American homes and offices. Current investors Sequoia Capital, Red Dot Capital Partners, Samsung NEXT and Viola Ventures all participated in the new financing, alongside additional new investors Hanaco Ventures and Hamilton Lane. Founded only three years ago, Puls pitches a service that can match consumers with the appropriate technician in a little over an hour, any day of the week. The company has built a network of 2,500 technicians in the top 50 cities in the United States, and will provide same-day installation and repair of over 200 products. Some things the company’s technicians can service include smartphon...