Jack Dorsey’s investment firm, Block, has recently made news by joining the latest round of funding for Japanese fintech Kyash. The funding totals around $41 million, and the investment from Block is expected to help Kyash expand its reach and technology capabilities.
This article will give an overview of the latest development and a look at the potential implications of the investment.
Jack Dorsey’s Block joins $41M funding for Japanese fintech Kyash
Jack Dorsey’s Block is a cryptocurrency investment firm founded by Twitter and Square CEO Jack Dorsey in 2020. The company invests in cryptocurrency start-ups and blockchain-related projects, aiming to drive growth and development in the sector. Block has now joined the latest round of funding for Japanese fintech Kyash, committing $41 million for the venture.
Kyash is a payments provider that enables users to send and receive payments and store and spend digital currencies on its app, which supports multiple digital asset wallets. Supported currencies include Bitcoin, Ethereum and Ripple, and Japan’s native digital currency the Yen Token (YTN). Kyash also enables online merchants to accept payments through its service.
Notably, this latest round of funding from Jack Dorsey’s Block also sees participation from SoftBank Ventures Korea (SBVK), Global Brain Corporation (GBC) and DNX Ventures Inc. — all of which join existing investors Aozora Bank Ltd., Mizuho Bank Ltd., GMO Financial Holdings Inc., Asahi Shinkin Capital Co., TIS Group Co. Ltd, Cyberagent Ventures Inc., SMBC Venture Capital Co., D4V Co. Ltd., Sony Financial Ventures Inc., Hakuhodo DY Digital Fund 1 LPC and JAFCO Investment N0 8 LPC who have previously led rounds of financing for Kyash.
With such a vast range of powerful investors backing them up, Jack Dorsey’s Block has provided another major boost to Kyash as they look to innovate even further with payment technologies across Asia Pacific.
The Investment
Jack Dorsey’s Block has joined the latest round of funding for Japanese fintech Kyash, announced on Wednesday. The investment includes a $41 million Series C funding round led by a consortium of investors from around the world.
As part of the funding round, Jack Dorsey’s Block will join other investors including Goldman Sachs, KDDI and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital in investing in Kyash. The investment will further develop Kyash’s fintech services and establish a presence in Japan.
Details of the $41M funding round
Jack Dorsey’s investment firm, Block, has joined a $41 million funding round for Japanese fintech firm Kyash, bringing the total investment to $45M. The new round of funding was led by new investor Block and existing investors Shinsei and Global Brain Corp.
Kyash is a digital payment infrastructure that enables individuals and businesses to make payments directly without involving banks. With this new investment, Kyash plans to expand its digital payment business in Japan while launching services in Taiwan and Hong Kong.
Kyash will use the $41M funding to strengthen its technology platform and drive growth in Japan by hiring staff to join the engineering and product teams. In addition, Kyash aims to use the funds to explore potential applications for its payments infrastructure outside of traditional financial services markets such as mobile commerce, e-commerce, e-wallet services, overseas payments processing and remittances. It also plans to increase investments in its brand recognition through marketing campaigns within local markets.
Block’s role in the funding
Jack Dorsey, co-founder and CEO of the popular social media platform Twitter, is expanding the scope of his endeavour with a venture into fintech. Through his investment firm Block, he has joined a new round of funding for Kyash, a Japanese fintech firm that provides users with an online payment solution. With this recent investment in Kyash, Block will play an instrumental role in contributing to the $41 million raised to further develop this new technology.
These efforts will help take Kyash’s services to the next level with improved functions such as real-time payments, loyalty programs, and ancillary services like credit card and gift registration on its platform. Currently, the platform boasts over 870 merchants who accept online payments through its service suite. Furthermore, with Block’s involvement and support from other funding partners such as Pointcorp Holdings Co., Ltd., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Bandai Namco Arts Inc., Dream Incubator Inc., GMO Venture Partners, ADB Ventures Inc., Chikuho Bank Ltd., DMM Group Corporation SBI Investment Co. Ltd, YJ Capital Inc. and Mertex Service Co. Ltd., Kyash is well on its way to becoming a major player in Japan’s highly competitive fintech market.
Kyash
Jack Dorsey’s investment firm, Block, has recently joined the latest round of funding for the Japanese fintech company, Kyash. This funding is part of a larger $41 million backing from investors, including Softbank.
Kyash is a fintech platform that helps users make real-time payments and manage their digital wallets. With this new funding, Kyash can further expand its services.
Overview of Kyash
Kyash is a Japan-based financial technology (fintech) platform founded in 2015 by entrepreneurs and investors. Kyash provides money management services such as payments, transfers, deposits, and remittance processing for individuals and businesses. It also offers credit card integration with several banks and payment services in Japan.
Kyash’s latest funding round was led by Jack Dorsey’s investment firm Block which invested $41 million into the company in 2021. This brings its total funding to over $94 million from investors including SoftBank, Bold Capital Partners, SBI Investment Co., Ltd., Mistletoe Inc., GMO VenturePartners Co., Ltd., JAFCO, FINTECH Globe Partners Co., Ltd., East Ventures Management Pte. LTD, NTT DoCoMo Ventures Inc., Smooneg SSGRP LLC and Kenmore Investment Corp II LLC.
The company intends to use the investments to expand its business and increase its presence across Japan by introducing new payment solutions with merchants and further developing its user interface to create an even more intuitive experience for consumers who use the platform. In addition to this one-of-a-kind fintech product which bridges gap between Japanese banks and digital payments providers’ solutions Tokyo Torpedo Trading LLC – Kyash’s newly launched sister company – is teams up with more than 30 national companies including convenience store chains FamilyMart and Lawson Store 100 , National Seven Eleven etc..
Kasash aims to become the first choice for money management solutions worldwide through leveraging expertise in financial technology on a local scale offering customers secure affordable efficient transactions from a one stop mobile shop experience. In addition, they hope to become an industry leader by providing superior customer service when offering financial solutions that suit their needs best.
With backing from Jack Dorsey’s Block Kyash has an opportunity to reach even more customers worldwide, creating robust financial opportunities for all stakeholders involved within this growing ecosystem of new personal finance innovations taking place globally.
Description of its fintech services
Kyash is a Japanese fintech company based in Tokyo that enables customers to make purchases using virtual prepaid cards. It provides customers a streamlined payment experience without maintaining multiple accounts or credit cards. The startup’s services include payment and money transfer solutions across various platforms, including mobile, online, and international for consumers and businesses. Kyash has partnerships with major financial institutions such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sony Financial Holdings, Credit Saison Co., Ltd., and Yahoo Japan Corporation to expand its reach in the fintech sector.
The startup’s technology platform helps users manage payments efficiently by providing virtual prepaid cards to consumers connected to multiple banking institutions. Once registered, users can pay with their card at any participating merchant or make domestic or international money transfers through Kyash’s secure digital wallet. Kyash also gives users discounts on payments when they use their virtual prepaid cards at partner merchants such as Amazon Japan and Lawson convenience stores. In addition, the company also offers consumers access to a virtual currency exchange service making it easier for users to convert between different currencies when shopping abroad or transferring funds internationally.
This latest round of funding from Jack Dorsey’s Block will enable Kyash to further develop its technology platform and expand into other countries such as Singapore, Taiwan, Hong Kong, South Korea, Thailand and Australia. In addition, the funds will be used towards expanding Kyash’s services beyond just consumer payments in Japan by providing additional services such as international money transfers, pensions management tools, wealth management tools and more integrated payment technologies including cryptocurrency payments.
Impact of the Investment
With the $41M investment from Jack Dorsey’s Block firm, Japanese fintech Kyash can continue expanding their services. This is an exciting development, but what kind of impact will this investment have in the future?
We’ll explore that by looking at the potential outcomes that this investment could bring.
Benefits for Kyash
The latest round of funding brings Kyash, a Japanese fintech startup, closer to its goals of offering digital-first consumer banking and payments solutions. Jack Dorsey’s Block, a venture capital firm specialising in blockchain technologies, participated in the round with other notable investors such as Global Brain Corporation and YJ Capital. This $41 million round of funding will go a long way for Kyash in realising their vision for the company.
Kyash will benefit from Block’s vast resources and expertise in blockchain technology. This investment signals the strong potential that the sector has for growth and disruption within financial services. By leveraging Block’s experience and capabilities, Kyash can now reach previously too difficult markets. Additionally, this latest injection of capital will enable Kyash to further develop their existing digital payments platform and innovate new products such as mobile products focused on remittances.
The impact of this investment has large implications on Kyash’s future and speaks to Japan’s progressive fintech market which has shown strong continued interest from startups and investors alike. With this additional financing, Kyash is poised to revolutionize retail banking in Japan while leveraging their skillset towards the global market through strategic partnerships with Block Ventures and key players.
Benefits for Block
Jack Dorsey’s investment firm, Block, recently joined the latest round of funding for Japanese fintech Kyash. This new round of funding has brought Kyash an additional $41 million in capital, a figure that further showcases Block’s participation’s impact on the company.
Having received an influx of capital from a renowned and successful investment firm like Block is a major benefit for Kyash as it will help them to develop and hone their products more effectively. This can also be seen as additional validation of the potential growth opportunities Kyash offers.
In addition to providing investment funds, with its participation in the round Block is also expected to provide strategic support. As experienced investors, they can provide advice on matters such as how best to develop products and services or which markets are most attractive and ripe for potential growth. Moreover, they can bring unique insights and problem-solving tactics that may be useful during periods of growth.
Ultimately, by investing in this funding round, Jack Dorsey’s Block has provided significant benefits to Kyash — both monetarily and strategically — helping them move closer towards their goal of transforming mobile payments across Japan and beyond.
