Bitcoin remittance company Coins receives $5 million in Series A funding

We’ve been quiet for a long time, but that doesn’t mean we haven’t been making progress.”

Coins, a bitcoin startup launched in 2014, has been focused on promoting financial inclusion in Southeast Asia. Coins has attracted a lot of merchant interest with its services in the Philippines and Thailand, and has gained more than 500,000 customers, but has been keeping a low profile since 2015.

However, that may soon be changing, as Coins has just announced a $5 million Series A funding round.

It is reported that this round of financing was led by Accion Frontier Inclusion Fund, which focuses on investing in financial inclusion startups. Other investors include BeeNext, Digital Currency Group (DCG), Eric Schmidt's Innovation Endeavor Fund, Global Brain, Pantera Capital, Rebright Partners and Wavemaker Labs.

Notably, the investment was also supported by two major innovation labs of major telecommunications providers in the Philippines, namely Kickstart Ventures, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Globe Telecom, and IdeaSpace Fund, backed by First Pacific.

Ron Hose, CEO of Coins, said in an interview with reporters:

“We actually work closely with them so we can easily pay money into their mobile wallets and send money to any of their company phones. They have the infrastructure locally and we help facilitate the use of more of that infrastructure.”

Unlike many bitcoin startups that focus on the digital currency, Hose said his company uses blockchain as a “transfer protocol,” further explaining that Coins’ customers don’t have to endure bitcoin’s volatility because they can choose to hold Philippine pesos.

“We love Bitcoin, but people who don’t have bank accounts, they can’t afford the volatility of Bitcoin,” Hose said.

Cooperation with banks and other institutions

Hose said Coins’ goal is not to disrupt, but to work with existing large institutions.

“The key reason to have so many partners is that you need to work with banks, you need to work with telcos, governments, non-profits, and get everybody involved.”

So far, Hose believes this has enabled Coins to find creative ways to serve its customers. For example, he noted that his company is now able to enable “cardless withdrawals” at 450 ATMs. Instead of using a debit card, Coins users can withdraw cash by simply entering a text message code.

"This cash withdrawal method is open 24*7, and you will find that this is the most convenient way to transfer money," Hose continued.

Elsewhere, Hose mentioned a number of other services, including door-to-door cash delivery and services at local convenience store chains, which he claimed were part of Coins’ broader strategy.