Sweden's Rebtel raises $8 million to launch its banking service for migrants in the US and EU

Sweden-based Rebtel that's operating a platform for affordable international calling for migrants has raised $8 million in a funding round led by Balderton Capital and an existing investor, Index Ventures. The money will be used to launch a banking offering in the EU and US, the company stated in a press release.

The new offering would target about a half of unbanked migrants across the world. There are little details about how the digital banking would work, but the startup is expecting to launch it by the end of 2018.

“When moving to a new country whether it be for work, love, or a new beginning, many migrants don’t have the credit or financial history to get up and running,” said Magnus Larson, CEO of Rebtel. “With the addition of this service, we hope to ease the barriers to migrants success and help them prosper wherever they land.”

Rebtel's current offering allows the customers to make unlimited calls to one out of a list of 56 countries for $10 per month. To the other countries, it seems to offer prices comparable to other similar services.

The current round of funding brings the total amount raised by Rebtel to $28 million; it raised the first funding round of $20 million in 2006 from Index Ventures and Benchmark Capital. Rebtel stated that it's going to add $8 million from its bank account to the fresh funding to fuel the work on the banking solution.

An earlier report indicated that as of April 2017 Rebtel planned to raise $20 million in funding by the end of last year.

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