Fintech start-up Pomelo raises $70m in seed financing

San Francisco-based fintech Pomelo has secured $20 million in venture capital and a $50 million credit facility as part of a seed funding round.

Pomelo bags $20m venture capital and $50m credit line

The round was led by Founders Fund and A* Capital with participation from Afore Capital, The Chainsmokers and The Weeknd, among others.

Pomelo’s platform combines consumer credit and money transfer with zero transfer fees. In partnership with Mastercard, Pomelo has developed a credit card that allows US customers to “allocate credit” to their loved ones around the world.

It also offers customers the chance to build their credit history in the US with their existing remittance obligations.

Pomelo claims it had over 120,000 people sign up to its waitlist six months prior to its beta testing.

Following the funding, the start-up’s CEO and co-founder, Eric Velasquez Frenkiel, says the firm has enabled money transfer with the Philippines and will be “unlocking more of the waitlist” in the coming months as it prepares to launch in new countries.

“Our team has been hard at work these past 24 months to build the complex infrastructure needed to create not just a new product, but to spearhead a new product category,” Velasquez Frenkiel says.

“In the coming years, we look forward to ‘planting more Pomelo trees’ across the more than 210 countries where Mastercard is accepted,” he adds.