Reap, a Hong Kong-based digital payment company, has raised $40 million in a funding round. The money will be used to build infrastructure that will make it easier for Web3 projects and traditional businesses to pay each other.
The funding is led by Silicon Valley’s Acorn Pacific Ventures, the U.S.’s Arcadia Funds, and Hong Kong’s HashKey Capital, which manages digital assets. Reap said in a Thursday statement. Fintech company Payment Asia from Hong Kong and U.S. venture capital firms Hustle Fund and Fresco Capital were among the other investors in this round.
Reap said that the money would be used to set up hubs in Asia, North America, and Europe and to hire twice as many people by the end of next year. In the meantime, the company will keep building Web3 infrastructure with cryptocurrency companies to help them connect with traditional merchants and real-world services. The infrastructure could be up and running as soon as January.
“We want to build software and tools to enable more traditional businesses to get to payment digitalization faster,” says Daren Guo, cofounder of Reap. “At the same time, we want to enable access and connectivity for Web3 projects to ensure that they can continue to innovate and bring a lot of their ideas and creativity to apply for some of these more traditional companies.”
Last November, Reap and Visa released a corporate credit card for businesses that lets them track their spending through an online platform. Since then, the startup has added new features that let blockchain and cryptocurrency companies pay off credit card balances with stablecoins.
Its services have attracted major crypto players such as Binance, which is owned by billionaire Changpeng Zhao, blockchain gaming huge Animoca Brands, and crypto financial services firm Amber Group, among others. Acer, a Taiwanese computer company, and Pickupp, a Hong Kong logistics startup that is backed by Swire Properties, are both clients from the traditional business space.
Guo explains that the cryptocurrency payment feature is still being tested and that he hopes to add more digital assets to the credit card in the future. “We’ve always wanted to find a bridge to allow a little bit more fluid bilateral movement between the Web2 and Web3 world,” he says. “To us, the best way to be able to bridge that gap currently is through a payment method, like a Visa corporate credit card that’s accessible on a global basis.”
Reap was started in 2018 and offers online financial services for businesses, such as online payments and managing expenses. Since then, the company has raised a total of $46 million in capital. Guo says the company is open to getting more money so it can offer more services in areas like payroll and procurement.
Reap said that its sales have doubled in the past year and that it now has more than 20,000 customers. More than 40 people work for the company right now in Hong Kong, Singapore, Vietnam, Japan, Canada, Australia, and Malaysia.
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