UAE: Startup founded by expat raises $93 million fund for cross-border digital payments
Aspora (formerly Vance) told Khaleej Times it cumulatively raised $93m from Sequoia Capital, Greylock, and other angel investors, including Quantum Light (the venture fund set up by Revolut CEO, Nikolay Storonsky).
'While a lot of financial products are in our future roadmap, we currently focus largely on remittances by keeping convenience at the center,' added the banking/ remittance startup.
Aspora was founded in 2022 by Parth Garg, who dropped out of Stanford to build the company.
Garg was raised in Abu Dhabi, and his family still resides in the Capital.
The startup is building banking solutions for immigrant diasporas, beginning with the global Indian community. 'We currently help 250,000 users remit money to India, and the majority of our users are in the UAE,' Aspora noted, adding: 'We currently process more than $2 billion in volume, up from $400 million when we raised our Series A, six months ago. Our users have saved over $15 million in fees with Aspora over this period.'
Aspora assured users they follow exchange rates identical to those on Google, and more importantly, they 'charge zero fees on transfers in the UAE but there is a fee in other regions.
'We are currently present in the UK, the UAE, and the EU region. We are launching in the US in July and in Canada, Australia, and Singapore by the end of 2025,' said Aspora, which is headquartered in London with offices in Dubai and Bengaluru.
The company also announced new products 'that will help users bank across multiple countries, invest in multiple asset classes, and avail credit and insurance across borders.'
Lead investor and new board member Luciana Lixandru noted: 'Aspora is bringing diaspora banking into the modern age, enabling (expats) participate in the growth stories of their home countries. This isn't just about digital banking, it's about the new opportunities Aspora can create for immigrants all over the world.'
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