International money transfer service Remitly saw its customer base grow by 200 percent year, raises $85m at a $1.5bn valuation

Just hours after TransferWise announced a massive $319m secondary share sale that saw the company valued at $5bn, rival remittance fintech Remitly has swiftly followed suit. The fintech announced the closure of an $85m funding round, which was led by Prosus’ PayU, and which saw the fintech valued at $1.5bn yesterday afternoon. Other existing investors in the round include, DN Capital, which has invested in fintechs such as BNext and Raisin, Generation Investment Management, of which former Vice President Al Gore is chairman of, and Stripes, which has invested in the likes of Pleo and Grubhub. Threshold Ventures, Owl Rock Capital, Princeville Capital and Top Tier Capital Partners also participated.