Kyash, a Tokyo-based mobile financial app, has raised $41.2 million (4.9 billion JPY) in Series D funding.
The round comes from a number of investors, including Japan Post Investment Corporation, Block (formerly known as Square), Greyhound Capital, SMBC Nikko Securities, Altos Ventures, Goodwater Capital, StepStone Group, JAFCO Group, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital and others.
According to a report by Nikkei, this marks Block’s first investment in an Asia-based company. The Series D brings Kyash’s total funding to approximately $107.7 million (12.8 billion JPY) since its inception in 2015.
The startup will use the proceeds to double its headcount and bolster product growth, Shinichi Takatori, chief executive officer of Kyash, told TechCrunch.
Founded by Takatori, who previously worked in the banking and consulting industry, Kyash offers a mobile banking app that enables consumers to make online and offline payments, remittances, and ATM withdrawal services. In addition, Kyash, the issuer of Visa cards, provides flexibility by issuing virtual and physical pre-paid debit cards. When asked about its B2B business, Kyash carved out its white-labelled card issuing platform to incursion last year and is focused purely on direct channel business, Takatori said in an interview with TechCrunch.
