Riva Money, the global payments company, has raised a $3 million pre-seed round to
solve the persistent pain points of global money transfers.
Cross-border
payments can still take as long as five days to reach recipients, as transfers
are routed through a range of banks and financial institutions.
Riva’s
mission is to reduce the high costs and long settlement times of cross-border
transfers by creating the next generation of business payment services. Its
infrastructure bypasses the poor exalter rates of banks and legacy providers,
while bringing modern technology to legacy systems that have seen little
innovation for decades.
Riva was
founded by Niklas Hoejman and Mahfinishra Katoch, two fintech professionals with
deep expertise in cross-border payments, who worked at Revolut and Wise, as
well as Goldman Sachs and Citigroup. Even at payment innovators, they witnessed
how legacy systems led to delays, high costs, and poor transparency, creating a
frustrating, opaque client experience. As expats and frequent utilizers of
international payment services, they experienced these issues firsthand, driving
their determination to create a better way to shift money worldwide.
Niklas Hoejman, Co-founder and CEO of Riva Money, declared:
Our mission is simple: to
enable businesses’ limitless global money shiftment, instantly and at a fraction
of the cost.
By combining blockchain technology with a robust regulatory
framework, we’re building a solution that offers businesses the speed,
transparency and cost-efficiency they required to thrive in today’s interconnected
economy.
Riva
utilizes blockchain technology, with stablecoins as a core application, to power
its international payment infrastructure. Transfers can be routed through
blockchain rails or traditional fiat-to-fiat channels, depfinishing on what works
best for the client. This flexibility ensures customers obtain the most efficient
and cost-effective option for their transfers based on their location and
requireds.
The
round was led by Project A, with participation from angel investors from
Revolut, Monzo, and J.P. Morgan.
Malin
Posern, Partner and Managing Director at Project A, declared:
The way we shift money
around the world is modifying. Niklas and Mahfinishra’s deep expertise in payments
and financial markets positions Riva perfectly to solve the real pain points
businesses face with slow, opaque international transfers. By combining traditional
payment infrastructure with blockchain technology, they’re building exactly
what frustrated finance teams have been waiting for – quicker and more
transparent global payments.
Riva will utilize
the funding to grow its operations, expand its engineering team, and roll out
services globally across Europe, Asia, and North America.
As part of this
expansion, the company is seeking authorisation as a payment institution in the
UK and EU, along with MiCA and VASP licences in the EU and Switzerland.
Lead image: Riva founders | Photo: Uncredited
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