Exclusive: Unite Global secures second $5.25m investment from Svea
Unite Global, the Norwegian cross-border payments firm, has received a second $5.25 million investment from Swedish financial group Svea Ekonomi.
The UNITE team plan to launch the new hub in Q4 2021
Svea exercised an option to increase its holding from 4.95% to 9.91%, following on from the firm’s initial $5.25 million investment last year.
Lennart Ågren, owner and CEO of Svea, has also joined the board of Unite Global as part of the deal.
The investment will be used to set up a dedicated facility in Fredrikstad, Norway, as the fintech looks to launch its ‘UNITE’ cross-border payments hub for banks.
The UNITE platform will select eight to twelve partner banks to create an interconnected community which offers an instant global payment and settlement capability for any bank connected into the hub.
Chairman of UNITE Erik Bergstrom says the software is “complete and well proven”, with proof of concept transactions to take place later this year ahead of a full launch planned for Q4 2021.
Lennart Ågren, CEO of Svea, says: “Svea is excited to be a part of this game-changing transformation of the cross-border banking payments space.
“Taking up our option as planned was a given, given progress to date and the efficient application of the investment.”
Related: Goldman Sachs partners with Visa for cross-border payments
