Global payment solutions provider, peerTransfer, has raised US$22m in new funding which will be used to support its three-pronged growth strategy of international expansion, product innovation and new verticals within the international education space.
Bain Capital Ventures led the investment while peerTransfer’s prior investors – Spark Capital, Devonshire Investors, Accel Partners and QED Investors – have also contributed.
“We hit the perfect storm of growth as the international students across the world have doubled over the last seven years or so,” CEO Mike Massaro told The PIE News.
“We hit the perfect storm of growth as the international students across the world have doubled over the last seven years or so”
“For the last three and a half years we’ve been mainly focused on the US followed by Australia and the UK, so you’re definitely going to see more peerTransfer offices and staff and we’ll be signing on more schools,” he added.
Massaro explained that demand for peerTransfer’s services have boomed amid rising tuition fees in what he describes as an “underserved” market for those international students trying to save costs.
An appetite for additional peerTransfer product offerings has also been stemming from clients looking for ways to make charitable donations across borders.
“There’s no way to donate from abroad so we’re starting to get a lot of schools asking us to deploy solutions in things like giving and donations, so we’re looking at all types of opportunities and additional products,” he said.
In August last year, peerTransfer reached $1bn in international education payments and Massaro confirmed that the firm is on track to reach its US$2bn milestone by May this year.
“With its enhanced capital base and already strong balance sheet, peerTransfer is poised for even faster growth and expansion,” said Alex Finkelstein, General Partner at Spark Capital, which has been an early investor in peerTransfer.
Boston-headquartered peerTransfer has additional offices in Europe and assists students from over 200 countries in paying their tuition fees and accommodation at over 500 colleges and universities around the world.
