SendFriend is a remittance service that is aiming to utilize blockchain technology to lower costs for those sending money to the Philippines. The service is set to launch in March, and has support from Ripple, along with Mastercard, Barclays, and MIT Media Lab.
In fact, the startup just received 1.7 million dollars in funding which should give them a boost as they prepare to embark on a mission to be a leader in worldwide remittances.
SendFriend CEO David Lighton told Mobile Payments Today that SendFriend is in position to succeed because they can outdo their competition in the traditional financial sector.
“Our service is different from what’s available because we are the only company there to leverage a blockchain technology in a commercial, regulatory compliant way. Our service enables real-time payments, with a mere 2.5 percent price tag, while the next cheapest thing is about 4 percent and requires the customer to wait three to five days unless they choose to pay a premium for instant service.”
SendFriend will use Ripple’s xRapid and XRP to make these savings of time and money possible. All in a matter of a few minutes, US dollars will be converted into XRP, sent to the Philippines and instantly converted into the local currency, the peso. The project was chosen by MIT Media Lab as the recipient of the Translational Innovation Alliance Award and is praised by many in the blockchain industry for its standout tech.
Another SendFriend partner, 8 Decimal Capital is excited about what they can build together. Their founder, Yuan Ruan thinks SendFriend will make a lot of noise in the sector.
“SendFriend has built strong partnerships along its supply chain while developing a foundation to significantly minimize friction in the system. This is a highly competitive space with longtime incumbents, but we are confident in the success of SendFriend,” said Ruan. “SendFriend has a good combination of an experienced team, large $650 billion remittance market, investors that provide more than just capital, and a growth strategy focused on more than revenue from transactions including APIs and white-label solutions.”
According to CEO David Lighton, with this funding SendFriend will now focus on adding to their team and getting their message out there. “This investment will allow us to build out our team, focus on community engagement, and marketing efforts.”
Projects like this will only prove the value of cryptocurrency and could make people much more interested in buying XRP.
