Founded in 2015, investors in the company include all three major Japanese mega bank groups, as well as global venture capital firms. Total funds raised as of today are $73 million.

Kyash currently offers a prepaid-debit based mobile wallet app that allows consumers to make payments at Visa merchants and peer to peer transfers, but the firm has set its sights on attaining a banking licence which would allow it to offer current accounts and money remittance services.

Three-year old Kyash is riding a Government-inspired push to raise the share of cashless payments as part of an effort to better serve foreign visitors who prefer to use credit or debit cards.

The company believes the switch to cashless transactions is only likely to get more pressing with the onset of the Coronavirus pandemic and enforcement of social distancing protocols

Other investors in the current round include Greyhound Capital, a UK growth equity investment firm, US venture capital firm Altos Ventures, global investment firm Partech Partners, US FinTech venture capital fund Broadhaven Ventures, US venture capital firm Tekton Ventures, and Rahul Mehta, managing partner of DST Global. This is the first time Greenspring Associates, Partech, and Broadhaven Ventures have invested in a Japanese startup.

“I am delighted to announce Kyash’s partnerships with these global investors as a result of the company's progress in product development and significant user traction in Japan amid the uncertain market conditions resulting from the widespread effects of the pandemic,” says Shinichi Takatori, Founder & CEO of Kyash. “We are confident that our focus on developing proprietary payment technology and strategic merchant network partnerships continues to bring value to users and addresses the need for remote financial transactions in a digital economy.”