China-based cross-border financial services provider XTransfer has closed a $15m series B-1 round led by EWTP Fund, a vehicle for trade organisation Electronic World Trade Platform, which is backed by e-commerce group Alibaba.
The round included China Merchants Venture Capital, the venture capital arm of investment manager China Merchants Capital, as well as VC firms 01VC, Yunqi Partners and Gaorong Capital.
XTransfer offers financial services to small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), helping Chinese businesses collect and make payments, collect debts, lend money and exchange currencies in international markets.
The startup has licences and branches in Hong Kong, the US, UK, Japan, Canada and Australia, and plans to use the series B proceeds to expand that network while growing its marketing and technology capabilities.
Bill Deng, XTransfer’s co-founder and CEO, said: “We observed the last wave of economic globalisation which gave birth to a global financial network, including international banks, card schemes and payment companies, which originated from Europe, the United States and Japan. I believe China will further accelerate its reform and opening-up and embrace the world.
“This embrace will start with the China-based SMEs. They will drive the globalisation of Chinese businesses, and they will need a financial services platform to provide the infrastructure to empower them. This new platform will empower SMEs with mobile internet-based technology, data-driven intelligence and people-oriented services.”
XTransfer was founded in mid-2017 by six former employees of Alipay, the payment services platform operated by Alibaba’s financial services affiliate, Ant Financial.
Yunqi Partners and Gaorong Capital had supplied $5m in seed funding for the company before returning for a $10m series A round in October 2018 that was led by China Merchants Group and baceked by 01VC.
