Azimo gets €20 million in debt financing from EIB to grow its global money transfer service

Azimo, the European money transfer service, has entered into a €20 million debt agreement with the European Investment Bank (EIB). The loan will help Azimo accelerate its expansion, product development, and grow its technical team in Kraków, where the majority of its staff is located.

Headquartered in London, the fintech company offers cross-border money transfers with an emphasis on speed and affordability. Aware that many overseas workers send their paychecks back home (to the tune of nearly $650 billion per year), Azimo works toward the UN Sustainable Development Goals of financial inclusion and inequality reduction. Michael Kent, founder and chairman, said: “While Europe is the largest international payments market in the world, it is poorly served by legacy providers, so slow delivery times and very high costs are the norm for European consumers and businesses. At Azimo we are building a European payments champion with near-instant delivery at super low cost.” Since its founding in 2012, Azimo has built a payout network of 20,000 local banks in more than 200 countries and territories. In 2019, the company transferred more than $1 billion around the world, and its services were used by over two million customers. The debt financing is supported by the European Fund for Strategic Investments (EFSI), the financial pillar of the Investment Plan for Europe. “People need to be able to transfer money as quickly and safely as possible,” said Valdis Dombrovskis, European Commission Vice-President for an Economy that Works for People. “This is a priority of the Commission and we will continue to support successful companies such as Azimo to boost the European fintech sector and improve the experience of millions of customers.”