AstroPay has been around since 2009. The homegrown company now has 320 employees and is profitable. Still, it's not a name that pops up often in startup news.
The company originally got its start as a payment services provider focused on Latin America, with alternative payment methods next to the PayPal or Card button on the checkout page.
Now, the company wants to expand beyond its roots and become a global consumer fintech product, a multi-currency wallet paired with a payment card that allows you to pay, send and receive money from your mobile phone. I'm thinking. The company also offers savings accounts.
The new AstroPay app and website is in many ways similar to Wise, a London-based fintech company that offers multi-currency accounts and exchange services. Wise helps families working abroad and sending money back, freelancers invoicing their company in another currency, small businesses working with foreign suppliers, frequent travelers, and moving abroad on a gap year. It is especially popular among students who
However, the AstroPay team still believes that sending and receiving money from abroad should be easier. They say most cross-border payments take at least 24 hours to arrive. In some cases, customers may need to speak to a bank support representative to send money abroad. And of course, it can be expensive.
“At least for now, there is no such thing as a global bank, and that's basically what we're trying to do with AstroPay,” CEO Mark Sakal told TechCrunch. He previously co-founded fintech company Arcus, which was acquired by Mastercard.
“Our product is like a global digital bank that allows anyone, individuals or businesses, to save, send and spend money anywhere,” he added.
Image credit: AstroPay
Unlike Wise, AstroPay also has a merchant network that accepts payments through AstroPay at checkout. If a merchant decides to accept AstroPay, customers can pay using AstroPay directly on the merchant's website or app.
AstroPay charges fees for these business-to-consumer (B2C) transactions. Also, the company plans to subsidize its multicurrency wallet products thanks to these fees, which means that customers will be able to get good exchange rates thanks to B2C transactions in Latin America.
“As people swipe their cards, which means we incur exchange fees, and as people keep money in their wallets from the yield we get, and just as we charge merchants, We make money by using your wallet balance to pay directly with merchants,” Sakal said.
As such, the AstroPay wallet should work particularly well in Latin American markets where it already has a merchant network. AstroPay is supported by Booking.com as well as food delivery services iFood and Rappi.
“We are very strong in emerging markets,” Sakal added. “A great example of the product we're working on is Brazil, where the local payment method is Pix. It's instant, real-time. That's what everyone uses. For merchants, they'd rather accept that than card payments. We think… And when you go to Brazil with AstroPay, you can use Pix.”
AstroPay currently operates in approximately 25 countries. In addition to Latin America, the company is expanding into Europe as many Latin American workers migrate to Europe in search of new job opportunities. You may need to obtain European bank account (IBAN) details and repatriate money.
As such, the company recently obtained a Danish electronic money institution (EMI) license. In addition to Denmark, AstroPay will soon start accepting customers in Spain and Portugal. By the end of 2025, AstroPay will also accept customers in France, Germany, Italy, and Poland.
AstroPay itself has teams in multiple markets, including Argentina, Brazil, Colombia, Denmark, India, Peru, Spain, the United Kingdom, and Uruguay. “This team is also a reflection of the company we're building: we're 320 people, spread out around the world,” Sakal said.