Riva Money, a rising fintech startup, has successfully raised $3 million in pre-seed funding to accelerate its mission of transforming digital finance. The round attracted top-tier backers including Project A, Revolut, Ebury, Monzo, and J.P. Morgan, a clear indicator that industry leaders see Riva Money as a future force in the financial technology landscape.

Co-founded by Niklas Höjman and Mahendra P S Katoch, Riva Money is entering the competitive fintech ecosystem with bold ambitions: to streamline cross-border transactions, enhance digital banking services, and build next-generation infrastructure that serves both businesses and consumers.

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The Problem Riva Money is Solving

Global money movement is plagued by high fees, inefficiencies, and slow settlement times. Even as digital banking adoption rises, legacy systems still dominate the back-end of cross-border finance. For consumers, this translates into costly remittances; for businesses, it means delays in global trade and payments.

The World Bank estimates that the average cost of sending remittances globally is 6.2%, more than double the UN’s Sustainable Development Goal target of 3%. For many migrant workers, this means losing billions of dollars annually to transaction fees that could otherwise support families.

On the corporate side, Deloitte reports that over 40% of international businesses experience payment delays due to outdated cross-border systems, with settlement taking 2–5 business days on average. These inefficiencies weigh heavily on small to medium enterprises that rely on predictable cash flow.

Riva Money is tackling these issues by developing an agile, tech-driven financial platform designed to lower transaction costs, improve transparency, and speed up settlements.

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Why the $3 Million Raise Matters

Though $3 million may sound modest compared to later-stage fintech raises, this pre-seed round is strategically significant. At this early stage, Riva Money has secured backing from some of the most recognizable names in the financial world.

• Revolut and Monzo represent the digital banking revolution.
  
• Ebury brings expertise in global trade and cross-border payments.
  
• J.P. Morgan, one of the world’s largest financial institutions, adds credibility and potential strategic partnerships.
  

For a young company, to attract both challenger banks and traditional financial giants is a rare feat - and one that signals strong confidence in its model. This isn’t just capital; it’s a signal that Riva Money may be building the connective tissue between new-age fintech and established banking power.

And here lies the deeper insight that founders should pay attention to: the most enduring fintech startups don’t win by dazzling consumers with sleek apps alone - they win by rebuilding the hidden plumbing of finance. Payments, liquidity, compliance - these aren’t glamorous problems, but solving them makes a startup indispensable. Investors know that infrastructure companies rarely face the churn of consumer-facing products, because once embedded, they become the rails upon which entire ecosystems operate. If you can make yourself the default layer others depend on, you stop competing for attention and start collecting inevitability. That’s the strategic edge Riva Money is quietly positioning itself for.

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Fintech Market Outlook

The fintech market is experiencing explosive growth. According to Grand View Research, the global fintech market size was valued at $257 billion in 2022 and is projected to grow at a CAGR of 19.5% through 2030, reaching nearly $882 billion.

Cross-border payments are one of the biggest segments fueling this boom. The global cross-border payments market reached $190 trillion in 2023, and McKinsey projects revenues from this sector will hit $3.6 trillion annually by 2030. Much of this growth is being driven by B2B payments, which account for nearly 90% of total cross-border volumes.

Meanwhile, digital remittances are projected to reach $150 billion by 2025, with Asia-Pacific leading adoption as migrant flows and mobile-first banking continue to expand. The opportunity for platforms like Riva Money lies in capturing both retail remittances and enterprise-level settlement needs.

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The Vision of Niklas Höjman and Mahendra P S Katoch

The founders of Riva Money bring a unique blend of experience in banking, technology, and emerging markets. Both Höjman and Katoch have witnessed firsthand the challenges of fragmented financial systems and the lost opportunities that result from inefficient money movement.

Their vision is to create a platform where sending money across borders becomes as seamless as sending a text message. By focusing on cost reduction, transparency, and speed, they’re building tools that serve everyday users while also scaling for enterprise-level needs.

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Trends Driving Fintech Growth

Several macro forces are accelerating Riva Money’s opportunity:

• Digital Banking Adoption: By 2025, it’s projected that 65% of the global population will use digital banking services.
  
• Remittance Flows: According to the World Bank, remittances to low- and middle-income countries hit $669 billion in 2023, a critical lifeline for millions of families.
  
• E-commerce Expansion: The UNCTAD estimates global e-commerce sales topped $5.7 trillion in 2023, creating a parallel surge in demand for seamless cross-border payments.
  
• Regulatory Change: The push for Open Banking in Europe and beyond is forcing legacy banks to open up APIs, creating new entry points for agile fintech players.
  

These trends create fertile ground for Riva Money to not just participate in the fintech wave, but to shape its future.

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What’s Next for Riva Money

With $3 million in fresh capital, Riva Money plans to:

• Expand its engineering and product teams to accelerate platform development.
  
• Launch pilot programs with early enterprise clients in Europe and Asia.
  
• Integrate advanced compliance and fraud prevention tools to meet global regulatory standards.
  
• Build partnerships with financial institutions to strengthen cross-border liquidity.
  

If executed well, Riva Money could emerge as a key fintech infrastructure provider, bridging the gap between traditional banking and modern digital-first finance.

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