Now Money just raised $7 million in a fund round led by Anthemis Exponential Ventures and joined by Knuru Capital, Wamda, Commercial Bank of Dubai, DIFC FinTech Fund, Accion Venture Lab, Greenhouse Capital, and Oryx Fund.

Currently available in the United Arab Emirates, the startup plans to use the latest funds to expand to Saudi. The investment will also be used to further develop its services and continue the growth in the UAE.

“This funding is a significant milestone for Now Money. We are eager to build on our progress to date and realize our vision of creating a world where everyone has instant access to financial services they can, and want, to use,” says Ian Dillon, the co-founder of Now Money. “The investment has brought us the financial support needed to scale our expansion plans across the GCC, as well as strategic value and partnerships from each of our investors.”

Founded in 2016 by Dillon and Katharine Budd, Now Money provides digital accounts to offer low-cost remittance and other financial services to migrant workers in Gulf. Now Money provides the employees of businesses on their platform with a Visa debit card supported by a mobile app. The businesses get a digital payroll solution that they can use to transfer the salaries (and rewards) of their workforce workers in an easy manner. Now Money also offers help with onboarding through training sessions for the workers.

Now Money’s user engagement doubled in 2020 as people turned to digital solutions during the pandemic. “The restriction of movement forced upon the world due to the COVID-19 pandemic accelerated digital as consumers’ transaction channel of choice and these habits are likely to remain ingrained long after Coronavirus,” says Now Money’s co-founder Katherine Budd. “For financial services it has proven that digital solutions are more than a luxury, they are an urgent necessity.”