Sapphire Ventures and e-commerce pioneer Rakuten join existing investors.

23rd June 2015: London, UK: Currency Cloud announces that it has raised an $18 million Series C round, led by high-growth technology investor Sapphire Ventures (formerly SAP Ventures). A second new investor from Japan, Rakuten, has invested through its Rakuten FinTech Fund, underscoring the global growth potential of the Currency Cloud business. All existing investors – Anthemis, Atlas Ventures, Notion Capital and XAnge Private Equity – have also increased their stakes in the firm. This brings Currency Cloud’s total funding to $36 million since its launch in 2012.

Currency Cloud is driving the transformation of the international payments landscape with the belief that moving money should be easy, fast, secure and transparent. Its Payment Engine is the power inside a range of cutting edge financial firms, enabling them to fully automate and manage all aspects of their international payments via next generation APIs.

The firm has grown strongly since its launch in January 2012, achieving 100% year on year revenue growth over the past two years. Today, Currency Cloud works with over 125 platform customers and its service has reached more than 150,000 end-customers. The firm processes over $10 billion payments a year, across more than 40 currencies in 212 countries, and is regulated as an e-money business by the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA).

Following incredible success in Europe, Currency Cloud has recently expanded its footprint to the United States, with the opening of an office in New York. The investment will drive the sustained growth of the business, and support further international expansion as well as continued investment in research, development and product upgrades to meet growing and changing client demands.

Andreas Weiskam, Managing Director, Sapphire Ventures will join the board of directors. He has significant experience helping start-ups scale and grow internationally and will leverage Sapphire Ventures’ unique relationship with SAP SE to tap into a vast ecosystem of customers and partners to support Currency Cloud’s next phase of growth.

Currency Cloud CEO, Mike Laven, commented: “We would like to thank our new and existing investors for their support of Currency Cloud. We have big plans for the business, and are proud to have a team on board that share and believe in this vision. The involvement of established institutional investors, Sapphire Ventures and Rakuten FinTech Fund will add a new dimension to our global ambition as we consolidate relationships with technology and banking partners worldwide.”

Weiskam said: “Sapphire Ventures is committed to backing high-growth companies with the potential to disrupt markets globally. By enabling transparent, efficient and secure transactions, Currency Cloud is revolutionizing how businesses can move money worldwide. We are excited to draw upon our enterprise DNA and international experience to help Currency Cloud scale and continue pushing the barriers to challenge how financial services are delivered.”

About Currency Cloud
Launched in London, Currency Cloud is driving the transformation of the payments landscape to make international business and new markets accessible to everyone. With its developer friendly Payment Engine, businesses can build and automate their products, benefiting from real time wholesale rates and a fast, secure payment network. Everything is delivered by its next generation API.

For more information about the company, please visit: www.currencycloud.com.

About Sapphire Ventures
Sapphire Ventures is focused on helping today’s most innovative technology companies become global category-defining leaders. Leveraging nearly two decades of experience and an extensive global enterprise network, Sapphire Ventures invests capital, resources and expertise to enable its portfolio companies to scale rapidly. Whether entrepreneurs sell to businesses, consumers or both, Sapphire Ventures offers a powerful platform for business development and operational excellence to help them accelerate growth. With $1.4 billion under active management via direct growth investments and an early-stage fund investment strategy, Sapphire Ventures is uniquely positioned to elevate companies to the global stage. Find us in Palo Alto and London and at www.sapphireventures.com. Follow us @sapphirevc.

About Rakuten FinTech Fund
Rakuten, Inc. is one of the world's leading Internet services companies. The Rakuten FinTech Fund invests in disruptive financial services start-ups across the globe, with a focus on North America and Europe. The fund targets early and later stage investments in innovative financial companies that offer attractive return potential. Rakuten FinTech Fund also acts as a bridge between entrepreneurs and Rakuten’s financial services, granting access to its expertise in banking, credit cards, insurance, securities and asset management in Japan and internationally.