Ex-Monzo CPO bags €13.6 m for his crypto-enabled money transfer fintech Sling Money

Sling Money, a crypto-enabled fintech based in the US and Netherlands designed to make the global transfer of money instant, easy, and low-cost, secured a €13.6 million ($15 million) Series A round led by Union Square Ventures, Ribbit Capital, and Slow Ventures. 

With Sling Money, users can effortlessly send money instantly across 50+ countries in Europe and Africa to other users, between their own accounts, or even to non-Sling users using a Sling Link.

For instance, a user can transfer money from Paris to Nairobi in a matter of seconds and then on to Bucharest, Stockholm, and Amsterdam for free. Each transaction is completed in a blink of an eye. 

Traditionally, transfers like these cost the sender a percentage of each transaction and are settled over hours—or even multiple days. The Sling app can now already convert between fiat currency and USDP in over 50 countries, and more are being added. 

Sling Money transfers instantly

With Sling Money, transfers should happen instantly, and according to the startup, there are few or no (hidden) fees, ensuring you get the most value for your money.

The parent company behind crypto-enabled fintech Sling Money, Avian Labs, is incorporated in Delaware but it also has a branch in Amsterdam, the Netherlands. 

Avian Labs was founded by the ex-Monzo Bank CPO, Mike Hudack (now Sling Money’s CEO) and Simon Amor, who had worked as a product designer at Monzo with Hudack. Previously, Hudack founded Blip (now part of Walt Disney) and was the CTO/CPO at Deliveroo. 

Experience consumer products

According to the company, the Sling Money team has extensive experience building and growing high-quality consumer internet products, including in regulated environments, at companies such as Facebook, Spotify, Square, CashApp and Monzo Bank. 

Sling Money combines stablecoin technology with a user-friendly interface and seamless integration with fiat payment systems to enable a better, faster, and cheaper way of moving money globally.  

For Europe, the Dutch Central Bank has granted Sling Money’s sister company, Avian Labs Netherlands BV, a crypto services license to exchange virtual currencies and fiat.

“Money should be easy to use”

“We believe that money should work the same way everything else on the internet works – that it should be easy to use, it should be fast, and it should be global,” said Sling’s CEO, Hudack. 

“The evolution of stablecoins and real-time payment systems around the world makes this possible. This capability has existed for a while now, but it’s been hidden behind complicated, user-confounding interfaces. Our goal is to fix that.”

Transfers on Sling Money are made using Pax Dollar (USDP), a US-dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company.  USDP and its reserves are under strict regulatory oversight by the New York State Department of Financial Services. Transfers made using Sling with USDP are instant and cost only a fraction of a cent. 

Sling Money’s vision

“Sling Money represents a fundamental shift in the global payments landscape, offering a platform for effortless, instant transactions,” Rebecca Kaden, Partner at Union Square Ventures, comments. “Sling’s vision aligns perfectly with our belief that building on payments infrastructure on the blockchain can fundamentally expand access, lower cost, and open new opportunities for users. We’re thrilled to support the team as they do this.”

Sling Money previously raised a €4.54 million ($5 million) seed round led by Ribbit Capital with participation from Slow Ventures. 

For those who want to try it out, we have bad news: the Sling Money app has a waitlist but is available for download on iOS and Google Play in countries where Sling is currently present.