SendFriend

Market position

SendFriend entered a remittance market its investors characterized as highly competitive with longstanding incumbents. It cited a $650 billion annual US outbound remittance market on which migrants paid more than $45 billion in fees, with transfers typically taking three to five days, and described Philippine remittances as the third-largest corridor globally at roughly $30 billion after India and China per a World Bank April 2018 report.

The company positioned its remittance service as reducing costs by 65% versus the industry average and settling transfers in seconds rather than the typical three to five days by using XRP as a liquidity vehicle instead of correspondent banking. For institutions, it combines payment processing with bundled compliance and onboarding automation and access to US sponsor banks.

Technology

The company was one of the first to settle payments on a blockchain. Its remittance product integrated Ripple's xRapid, using XRP as a liquidity vehicle for cross-border payments to bypass correspondent banking and convert USD to XRP to PHP in seconds. Its institutional platform combines payment processing with compliance automation, and following the DigiPli acquisition it added AML and sanctions-screening automation covering systems, staffing, tools and data for customer onboarding programs.

Go-to-market

The company entered the Barclays Accelerator Program, Powered by Techstars, to build out its product, planned an initial consumer launch in New Jersey with expansion to further US states via desktop and mobile, and offered early users fee-free transactions. Its institutional business goes to market through bank partnerships and sponsor banks.

Initially Overseas Filipino Workers in the United States remitting money to the Philippines; subsequently banks, financial institutions and non-US companies that need access to the US market and USD clearing, particularly in Latin America and the Caribbean, APAC and MENA.

Geography

Headquartered in the Greater New York City area, with locations listed in New York, NY and Jersey City, NJ. Its consumer service targeted the Philippines corridor with a planned first US launch in New Jersey; its institutional offering targets Latin America and the Caribbean, APAC and MENA.

History

Founded in 2017 at MIT, SendFriend was accepted into the Barclays Accelerator Program, Powered by Techstars. It integrated Ripple's xRapid in November 2018, announced $1.7 million in capital in February 2019, and planned an initial US launch in New Jersey. The company later shifted from consumer remittances to B2B payments-as-a-service for banks and financial institutions, and in February 2023 acquired the assets of US compliance provider DigiPli.

Risks & controversies

An investor in the company noted that cross-border remittances is a highly competitive space with longtime incumbents. The company's institutional business addresses global de-risking, citing a decline in active US correspondent banks from 100 in 2011 to 65.