Cashfree secures USD 5.5 mn funding led by Smilegate Investment

Bengaluru-based fintech company Cashfree Tuesday said it has secured USD 5.5 million (over 38 crore) in funding led by South Korea's Smilegate Investment with participation from existing investor Y Combinator.

The Series A funding also saw participation from investors such as George Osborne (former finance minister of the UK) and Vellayan Subbiah (former MD of Cholamandalam Investment), a statement said.

Cashfree had earlier raised from Y Combinator and other investors in 2017.

The funds will be utilised for expanding the team and distribution of the company's API banking platform payouts, the statement added.

Cashfree is used by more than 12,000 businesses for vendor payouts, wage payouts, bulk refunds, expense reimbursements, loyalty and rewards. It counts companies such as Xiaomi, Tencent, Delhivery, Zomato, Cred, Club Factory, ExxonMobil, and donation platforms like Ketto and Milaap among its customers.

Launched in 2015 as a payment gateway by Akash Sinha and Reeju Datta, Cashfree decided to build a dedicated bulk payouts solution for businesses operating in India in mid-2016.

"We have been growing 25 per cent every month, for the last 12 months. With the new round of funding, we will expand our product team and build for new use cases faster," said Akash Sinha, co-founder and chief executive officer, Cashfree.