US-based digital money transfer service Abra has added payments processing service American Express to a series A round that first closed at $12m in September this year.
Ratan Tata, chairman emeritus of Tata Sons, the holding group of conglomerate Tata, has also joined the round’s investors, which already included Arbor Ventures, RRE Ventures and First Round Capital. The size of the extension has not been revealed.
Abra enables users to send money instantly through a smartphone app without any transfer fees, and without the need for an associated bank account. The service collects a fee when a user adds or withdraws funds.
The series A capital will support a launch of the app in the US and Philippines within the next few weeks. Abra has also announced a service that will allow online retailers to accept payments through the app.
Abra previously raised $2m in seed funding from backers including Blockchain Capital, Carthona Capital, Cyanotype, Digital Currency Group, Future Perfect Ventures, Haystack, Jungle Ventures, The Launch Fund, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Liberty City Ventures, Nyca Partners and Pantera Capital.