Wirex, payments platform has announced their first crowdfunding. Aiming to raise £1 million, the company will give customers and fintech fans the opportunity to invest before they scale-up in the coming months. From 21st September, individuals can pre-register to invest in the company. It is expected to be one of the largest and most successful campaigns carried out by renowned equity crowdfunding platform, Crowdcube, who have already taken many start-ups to new levels of success.
Wirex is at the forefront of a rapidly developing industry. Cryptocurrency adoption rates have sky-rocketed in recent years – it’s estimated that over 40 million people globally already use cryptocurrency, with a 240% increase in the number of blockchain wallet users over the past 3 years. This trend has only grown since the onset of COVID-19, demonstrating real-use cases for cryptocurrency in everyday life.
In July 2020, Mastercard named Wirex as their first crypto-native principal member. Prior to this, Wirex was the first company to launch a contactless debit card enabling customers to spend cryptocurrency in-store, as well as the first cryptocurrency rewards scheme, Cryptoback™. In 2019, Wirex launched their first native token, WXT, as an Initial Exchange Offering, which sold out in a matter of hours.
Recognised for its outstanding accomplishments in fintech, payments and cryptocurrency sectors, Wirex won the acclaimed Innovate Finance Pitch 360 challenge for 2020. They are one of the few crypto-friendly companies that is a UK regulated e-money institution, and with cryptocurrency becoming more widely accepted amongst regulators, it is projected that the company will grow exponentially in the coming years. With a company valuation of £125 million, Wirex announced that it turned profitable in 2019 – rare for a fintech business so young. Having recently reached the milestone of 3.1 million customers across 130 countries, they predict achieving an incredible 10 million customers by the end of 2021.
Plans are already underway to launch a number of pioneering product and service updates since the announcement of a revolutionary product overhaul. Following partnerships with financial services giant Mastercard and payments solution company LHV, this includes the gradual rollout of next-generation features in the coming months, including additional currencies, free international ATM withdrawals, sky-high limits and next-to-no fees, as well as an upgraded rewards program, setting Wirex apart from its competitors. Striving for global expansion, Wirex is actively seeking licences in new territories with a highly anticipated launch in both the US and Japan in the coming months.
CEO and Co-Founder of Wirex, Pavel Matveev, explains how this decision to crowdfund comes at a crucial period in Wirex’s development. “Wirex has been making huge strides in changing the financial landscape, by making it easier for everyone to access cryptocurrency and spend it in the everyday. By offering a platform that bridges the traditional and digital economy, we are helping to encourage the mass adoption of cryptocurrency for future generations.”
Matveev goes on to explain that “We have a lot of exciting projects and announcements already underway at Wirex as we endeavour to provide a cheaper, faster and safer platform, and crowdfunding will only fast-track our ambitious plans. We’re proudly a hedgehog fintech – our journey to becoming a tech unicorn is built on managing and monetising growth sensibly. Millions of ‘Wirexers’ have supported our growth – this funding round is deliberately aimed at giving them an opportunity to own a share of the brand as we go to the next phase of our growth and scale-up.”
Luke Lang, co-founder of Crowdcube, complemented this by stating: “Over the years fintech has proven to be our most popular sector for investment so I am excited to see Wirex, who is on a mission to take cryptocurrency into the mainstream, raise with Crowdcube. It’s great that their loyal customer-base and fans will have the opportunity to buy a stake in this innovative company.”
