Currency exchange marketplace WeSwap has raised $7.5 million in Series A funding.
The round, which follows beta testing of the peer-to-peer service , was led by IW Capital and supported by EC1 Capital as well as existing shareholders.
WeSwap says it has proven the concept in a number of international markets and now plans to extend it to "key global markets"
The idea behind WeSwap, (Startup Pitch here), is to enable business and leisure travellers, expats and students studying abroad to swap currency without incurring charges from banks or foreign exchange specialists.
In a statement founder and CFO/COO Simon Sacerdoti says:
"The investment will enable us to continue to develop our product and expand the team to support the growth in our community and our business."
WeSwap works by enabling travellers to load their home currency on to an account and request a swap for the currency of their destination. The startup will step in and swap the currency if not existing member of the community needs the offered currency.
The company currently operates in six currencies but plans to expand to 16 by the end of the year. WeSwap also enables travellers to swap via email, Facebook, twitter and LinkedIn.
IW Capital head of investment Alan Armstrong says:
"We are delighted to have led and structured the investment in such a disruptive peer to peer business which has the power to change a market which is worth £35 billion in the UK alone."