AbbeyCross, the world’s first B2B trading and compliance marketplace headquartered in London, has raised $2.47 million in pre-seed funding. The investment came in the form of non-priced, convertible notes.
Who invested in AbbeyCross?
The financing round was led by Third Prime. Also, it saw participation from Communitas Capital and 11 strategic angel investors from within the payments industry. The fresh funds will be used to develop the AbbeyCross solution and change the Emerging Market (EM) currency payment market for the better.
Mike Robertson, CEO and Co-founder of AbbeyCross, said: “We are thrilled to have seen such great support and enthusiasm from the market for our pre-seed round. We are grateful to our investors and look forward to developing the AbbeyCross solution and changing the EM currency market for the better. The current situation is intolerable and unsustainable for those who rely upon the exchange of EM currencies, the banks and payment providers and the regulators themselves. Price transparency and deeper liquidity is desperately needed and that is what AbbeyCross intends to deliver.” Keith Hamlin, Founding Partner at Third Prime, said: “While currencies can efficiently be swapped between developed markets, in emerging markets the cross-border payment ecosystems are opaque and lack competitive pricing. The AbbeyCross team brings a wealth of knowledge and experience to this underserved segment of the payments market. Their cross-border EM payment platform will revolutionise the space by driving down costs and enabling demonstrable regulatory compliance.”
Doug Atkin, Managing Partner of Communitas Capital, said: “Communitas looks for entrepreneurs with industry changing ideas. The AbbeyCross marketplace is going to change an industry, and we’re excited to work with a team that have the experience, expertise, and network to solve a challenge that is set to grow.”
What does AbbeyCross do?
In today’s world, it should be easy to transfer money to and from anywhere. However, for many, it remains a significant challenge. Innovation in foreign currency exchange has been focused on developed markets, with Emerging Market (“EM”) currencies trailing behind.
This is despite money that is transferred in Emerging Markets often being needed more urgently when compared to money transferred in developed markets. This problem affects some 6 billion people, charities, NGOs, corporates, and governments worldwide. Founded by Mike Robertson and Adrian Brown in 2021 in London, AbbeyCross is the world’s first B2B marketplace to focus on improving the underlying market infrastructure for EM currencies. Working with global banks, their currency suppliers, and other financial services providers, AbbeyCross removes inefficiencies in the market. It brings deeper currency liquidity, price transparency, and market data to a fragmented EM currency payment industry.