Blockchain company Align Commerce receives $12.5 million in Series A funding led by Kleiner Perkins

On November 17, blockchain payment startup Align Commerce completed a $12.5 million Series A financing. The VC lineup participating in the financing can be described as "all-star". The lead investor is the legendary Silicon Valley investment company KPCB, and the follow-up investors include Digital Currency Group, FS Venture Capital, Pantera Capital, Recruit Ventures Partners, and SVB Ventures, the investment arm of Silicon Valley Bank.

Align Commerce was founded by former Western Union General Manager Marwan Forzley, who was the founder of payment startup eBillme before joining Western Union, and is seeking to disrupt the cross-border payments market for small businesses (SMBs). Prior to joining Western Union, Forzley was the founder of payment startup eBillme, which was later acquired by Western Union, leading Forzley to join Western Union.

Forzley said:

“We believe that the cross-border payment landscape will be disrupted and adopting new technologies can help reduce some of the friction, which is why we use blockchain.”

Forzley claims that his company’s product improves on traditional wire transfer cross-border transactions, and that this solution brings not only cost reductions but also other benefits.

It is reported that the company had previously received a seed fund in April, but the specific amount was not disclosed. The latest Series A financing will be used to expand Align's service scope. As part of the transaction, Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers general partner Randy Komisar will join the company's board of directors.

Product Introduction

Here is a brief introduction to Align's products. For example, it allows small and medium-sized enterprises to send US dollars, and the recipient receives euros. The end user still uses a traditional bank account, but in the middle of this payment process, Align converts the sender's funds into Bitcoin, then sells these digital currencies on an exchange, and then exchanges them for the recipient's desired currency.

Forzley said the company has many exchange partners, so the volatility of Bitcoin prices does not have a big impact on the company.

Additionally, he said, blockchain could allow Align to offer other benefits to merchant clients, such as providing real-time information on their remittances.

“You can track goods online, but you can’t track your online payments. Blockchain has an elegant tracking mechanism that helps you find the trace of payments,” he said. “How is this new technology different from existing payment solutions? Yes, it is cheaper, faster and easier to trace.”

Alternative correspondent banking

More specifically, Align Commerce uses blockchain technology to replace the work performed by correspondent banks in the cross-border payment process, which the company believes can provide more economical transactions for merchant customers.

Its market positioning is somewhat similar to that of distributed payment protocol provider Ripple. In October, Ripple announced that it would focus on cross-border payments.

However, Forzley explained that the two startups are not competing for the same customer base, despite the similarities in their technological approaches.

“ Ripple is targeting banks, and we are targeting the small business market ,” Forzley explained.

He also pointed out another difference: Align Commerce currently uses the bitcoin blockchain , but he also said the company's products could also use Ripple's distributed ledger if needed.

“We are an application layer,” he continued, “and we can switch to any cryptocurrency.”

Dependence on Bitcoin Exchanges

To be able to offer services in its jurisdiction, Align Commerce would have to be able to convert bitcoin into local currency, which means it would benefit from the availability of local bitcoin exchanges.

Forzley declined to name any specific partners, but said banks would be responsible for maintaining the exchanges in areas not covered by the exchanges.

“We will spend more time and energy on expanding the exchange,” he said. “We think this is an important development that the market needs.”

Original article: http://www.coindesk.com/blockchain-kpcb-align-commerce-12-5-million-series-a/
By Pete Rizzo
Compiled by: Satuoxi
Editor: Satuoxi
Source (translation): Babbitt Information