Wayra, Telefónica's flagship open innovation program, is investing in GrabrFi, the app that allows users to access the US banking system to receive payments and save in US dollars, and send and receive bank transfers, without needing to travel to or be a US resident. GrabrFi is currently available in 14 countries and reached a milestone of $45 million in transaction volume in 2023.
Wayra participated in this €2 million funding round to boost GrabrFi's expansion, especially in Latin America, a region where the financial services company is experiencing strong growth. The funding round will also serve to guarantee scalable growth and continue offering a customer experience with the compliance and security they require. The round was led by Gokul Rajaram (board member of Pinterest, DoorDash, and Coinbase) and also included other leading investors in Europe and the US such as Kintxo Cortés, Bruno Grandi, Dídac Lee, and Manuel Matés. “In an increasingly global world, the future of work requires fintech solutions like GrabrFi, which allows remote workers, freelancers, and digital nomads to get paid and operate in dollars securely, quickly, and conveniently from anywhere in the world, without having to worry about currency fluctuations. At Wayra, we believe we can be a strategic partner for GrabrFi, especially in Latin America, and we look forward to supporting their growth,” explained Marta Antúnez, director of Wayra Barcelona. “We are excited and “We are thrilled with Wayra’s support, as it allows us to accelerate our vision of connecting and transforming opportunities in Latin America. With their help, we will be able to expand in the region and beyond, and establish partnerships with like-minded companies to enhance our product offering to existing and new customers,” says Artem Fedyaev, founder and CEO of GrabrFi.
GrabrFi aims to eliminate barriers in traditional banking, empowering global users to effortlessly manage, transact, and safeguard their finances. In the Latin American market, GrabrFi is proving very popular with freelancers who provide services to other international markets, as they can collect fees and receive payments from global companies and clients without difficulty. Furthermore, users can add GrabrFi as a payment method on Airbnb, Deel, Upwork, and many other platforms, and withdraw their earnings to their US bank account. Wayra will be at ‘Four Years From Now’ (4YFN) once again this year, the leading event for the entrepreneurial ecosystem, held alongside Mobile World Congress in Barcelona from February 26 to 29. They will have their own stand, where GrabrFi will be present on Monday, February 26, as well as their own agenda with talks, presentations, panels, startups from their portfolio, and strategic partners.