Unicorn India Ventures led a $2 million seed funding round for the cross-border payments platform HiWiPay. Jupiter Metaverse LLP, the family office of Dewang Neralla, and additional angel investors Ritesh Malik, Mitesh Shah, and Nilesh Doshi also participated in the round.
According to a press release from HiWiPay, the money raised will be utilized to scale up operations in the education remittances sector and to improve and grow the trade remittance business.
HiWiPay is a cross-border payments platform that was co-founded in 2022 by Dewang Neralla, Geeta Chauhan, and Ujwal Tamminedi. It provides a smooth digital experience, removing paperwork hassles and guaranteeing safe, legal transactions. The platform eliminates issues like perceived high forex margins, lack of exchange rate transparency, due diligence, compliance requirements, and documentation barriers.
The startup from Mumbai wants to simplify procedures in a variety of industries and sectors that deal with complex processes. The platform makes international payments simple by offering competitive exchange rates and real-time tracking.
In order to create a presence in important European hubs, HiWiPay intends to launch its student app in the UK. According to the company, it has partnered with several banks and NBFCs to assist people in obtaining education loans, thereby increasing the accessibility and affordability of studying abroad. In order to serve students, it also intends to enter the SME trade remittance market and will introduce co-branded forex cards and other financial services.
5,000 international students will be onboarded on HiWiPay’s student app within the next 12 to 18 months. The company hopes to double its network of education consultants to 1,000 and anticipates remittances of $100 million. Additionally, it intends to enhance banking relationships to enhance FX rates and payment efficiency while providing trade remittance solutions to 1,000 SME exporters.
Fly Finance is a rival in the education sector, while Skydo and BriskPe are competitors in the trade sector.
