Visa has made a "sizeable" equity investment in Remitly to help the digital remittance outfit expand its network in emerging markets.
The investment comes as Remitly is understood to have recently hired investment banks to lay the ground for an initial public offering at a $5 billion valuation.
The two firms are also extending an earlier partnership to integrate the Visa Direct real-time push payments platform to enable Remitly customers in the US send funds to eligible debit cards in countries around the world.
Since the start of 2020, Remitly has more than doubled its reach in the number of available receive countries, from 49 to over 100 - while also launching send functionality in Singapore.
With Via's backing it plans to continue growing its network as well as to unlock more payment choices for customers.
Ruben Salazar, global head, Visa Direct, says: “By expanding on our collaboration with Remitly through Visa Direct, we look forward to unlocking new corridors and help give people more options to digitally send and receive funds to friends and family around the world.”