Japan-based remittance and payments technology provider Kyash has secured more than ¥1bn ($8.5m) in a series A round led by investment firm Jafco that featured several corporates, The Bridge has reported.
Trading group Itochu and financial services providers Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG) and Mizuho Financial Group were among the investors in the round, as was Dentsu Digital Holdings, a corporate venturing subsidiary of marketing firm Dentsu.
Kyash has built a platform that can be used to make peer-to-peer money transfers, or to send push notifications to other users regarding outstanding payments. For instance, a group of members could use the service to pool money for a gift or holiday.
The app is currently in beta testing and accepting pre-registrations, with the full product to be launched in January 2017. In addition to funding, Kyash is also entering partnerships with SMFG, Dentsu and Itochu, having already partnered payment services firm Visa for the app.
The round follows a $1.4m seed round closed by Kyash in July 2015 with funds from Mitsui Sumitomo Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of insurer Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance, and two undisclosed additional investors.