{"data":{"type":"company_profile","id":13719,"entity_id":"wefunder:company:13719","attributes":{"canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap","generated_at":"2026-06-24T19:18:29Z","updated_at":"2026-06-24T05:00:06Z","entity_ids":{"company":"wefunder:company:13719","slug":"wefunder:company_slug:zipzap"},"profile_visibility":{"owner_published":true,"public_search_results":true,"site_search_listed":true,"privacy_mode":"promote","invite_only":false},"provenance":{"source":"wefunder_public_company_profile","as_of":"2026-06-24T19:18:29Z","claims":{"total_amount_raised":{"source":"FrontCompanySummary#amount_raised","last_verified_at":"2026-06-24T05:00:06Z","as_of":"2026-06-24T19:18:29Z","confidence":"high"},"total_investors":{"source":"FrontCompanySummary#number_of_investors","last_verified_at":"2026-06-24T05:00:06Z","as_of":"2026-06-24T19:18:29Z","confidence":"high"},"active_raise_states":{"source":"Fundraise.visible(nil, nil)","last_verified_at":"2025-02-06T01:17:55Z","as_of":"2026-06-24T19:18:29Z","confidence":"high"},"latest_fundraise_state":{"source":"Fundraise.visible(nil, nil).order(funding_started_at)","last_verified_at":"2025-02-06T01:17:55Z","as_of":"2026-06-24T19:18:29Z","confidence":"medium"}}},"company":{"id":13719,"entity_id":"wefunder:company:13719","slug":"zipzap","name":"ZipZap","tagline":"Send money to loved ones on-the-go—Venmo for international remittances.","elevator_pitch":"Migrant workers send $600 billion every year to loved ones in their home countries. ZipZap makes it easy for these workers far from home to send unlimited remittances for a flat monthly rate of $25. Instead of having to visit a store, wait in line, and pay expensive fees, migrant workers can now send as many remittances as they want, at amounts they can afford—all from their phone. This is thanks to our unique technology that combines traditional SWIFT transfers with Blockchain technology.","location":"Orinda, CA","website":"https://zipzap.me/","total_amount_raised":134933,"total_investors":294,"is_funded":true,"is_active":true,"quality_score":2,"related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/zipzap","https://zipzap.me/"]},"media":{"share_image_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/13719/xxl_cropped_Screen_Shot_2018-07-12_at_12.29.21_PM.jpg","logo_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/logo/13719/large_cropped_google_profile.png","header_media_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/13719/standard_cropped_Screen_Shot_2018-07-12_at_12.29.21_PM.jpg","cover_photo_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company/header_media_photo/13719/standard_cropped_Screen_Shot_2018-07-12_at_12.29.21_PM.jpg"},"links":{"company_url":"https://zipzap.me/","twitter_url":"http://twitter.com/zipzap","facebook_url":"https://www.facebook.com/ZipZapInc"},"highlights":[],"quick_facts":[{"index":1,"claim_id":"claim-fact-1","value":"Created the first hybrid Currency Router using blockchain \u0026amp; traditional payment rails to significantly cut operating costs"},{"index":2,"claim_id":"claim-fact-2","value":"Introduced the first \"all you can send\" remittance membership model for a low $25/mo"},{"index":3,"claim_id":"claim-fact-3","value":"Obtained Money Transfer license in Canada and U.K."},{"index":4,"claim_id":"claim-fact-4","value":"Launched remittances to China, India and Philippines (3 of the largest remittance receiving countries worldwide)"}],"team":[{"id":85107,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:85107","user_entity_id":"wefunder:user:50248","role":"founder","name":"Alan Safahi","title":"CEO","bio":"A serial entrepreneur with nearly 30 years of hands-on experience in the information tech and telecommunications industry. Successfully created and managed numerous payment processing startups.","avatar_url":"http://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/user/avatar/50248/large_cropped_Alan_Safahi_Headshot_7.jpg?1493087596","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/alansafahi","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/safahi","related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/alansafahi"]},{"id":85109,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:85109","user_entity_id":"wefunder:user:84651","role":"employee","name":"Ben McSweeney","title":"Managing Director - UK","bio":"Oxford MBA, 5+ yrs in sales, bus. dev. (American Express)","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/85109/square_cropped_1b6029e.jpg?1486441231","profile_url":"https://wefunder.com/benmcsweeney","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/ben-mcsweeney-a4994138","related_urls":["https://wefunder.com/benmcsweeney"]},{"id":85112,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:85112","role":"employee","name":"Herbert Magbanua","title":"Bus. Dev. Mgr. - Canada","bio":"Engineer, 18+ years in B2B Sales (Philippine Long Distance)","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/85112/square_cropped_0a001e1.jpg?1486451835","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/herbert-magbanua-54bab296","related_urls":[]},{"id":91680,"entity_id":"wefunder:company_role:91680","role":"employee","name":"Thomas Singell","title":"Chief Compliance Officer","bio":"5+ years in risk mgmt. and compliance (Barclays Bank)","avatar_url":"https://uploads.wefunder.com/uploads/company_role/custom_photo/91680/square_cropped_Thomas.jpg?1486451801","linkedin_url":"https://www.linkedin.com/in/thomas-singell-01819183","related_urls":[]}],"featured_investors":[],"investor_memos":[],"tab_counts":{"posts":0,"ask_questions":40,"featured_investors":0,"faq_entries":5},"active_fundraises":[{"id":9296,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:9296","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","funding_type":"note","structure":"safe","security_type":"equity","currency":"USD","testing_the_waters":false,"min_purchase":100,"max_purchase":9,"funding_target":100000.0,"funding_started_at":"2017-04-25T01:39:31Z","funding_closed_at":"2017-07-13T04:00:52Z","auto_close_at":"2017-07-13T03:59:59Z"}],"latest_fundraise":{"id":9296,"entity_id":"wefunder:fundraise:9296","state":"successful","offering_type":"4(a)(6)","structure":"safe","testing_the_waters":false,"can_invest_now":false,"funding_started_at":"2017-04-25T01:39:31Z","funding_closed_at":"2017-07-13T04:00:52Z","terms":{"eb":null,"nb":"$15M","txt":"valuation cap"}},"recent_posts":[],"q_and_a":[{"id":56993,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:56993","question":"Is there an update.","author_name":"Delphine Castleberry","votes":2,"created_at":"2019-07-11T20:02:49Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-56993","answers":[]},{"id":91100,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:91100","question":"Is ZipZap still in business? I was an early investor","author_name":"Clifford Ward","votes":1,"created_at":"2020-05-23T00:02:08Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-91100","answers":[]},{"id":82328,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:82328","question":"Hi Send me your pitch executive summary we invest in financial inclusion, mw@miruminvest.com","author_name":"Mike Watson","votes":1,"created_at":"2020-03-12T22:13:24Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-82328","answers":[]},{"id":30335,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:30335","question":"It's been a while since we saw an investor update. What's the latest with ZipZap? You had plans to do a $5M Series A fundraise by the end of 2018. What is the status on that?","author_name":"Craig J. Vom Lehn","votes":1,"created_at":"2018-11-12T22:19:22Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-30335","answers":[]},{"id":17236,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:17236","question":"I like to invest in this company, please send me instruction","author_name":"Johnnie Green","votes":1,"created_at":"2018-01-16T03:05:20Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-17236","answers":[{"id":18024,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:18024","answer":"Sorry. The WeFunder campaign is now closed. However, you can still invest in ZipZap here: www.startengine.com/zipzap","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2018-02-08T19:16:37Z"}]},{"id":14653,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:14653","question":"What is the return on our investment? Thank you. JL.","author_name":"James Lewis","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-10-15T18:02:21Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-14653","answers":[{"id":14657,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:14657","answer":"James; As you know, there are no guaranteed returns on an investment in a startup. This question can be best answered when there is a liquidity event such as a Series A or beyond fundraising. We will keep you abreast of our progress as we get closer to this event. Meanwhile, we have been growing rapidly thanks to the money raised via WeFunder and the generosity of investors like yourself. We are planning on another round of funding before the end of the year to give us another push ahead of a Series A round which we hope to initiate in Q1/2018. Thanks for your email and your confidence in our team and mission. Best; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-10-15T19:51:26Z"}]},{"id":14094,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:14094","question":"Is there any fist time uses benefits?? Do we recive done coupons?","author_name":"Nitin Khandelwal","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-09-23T13:28:54Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-14094","answers":[{"id":14108,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:14108","answer":"We will distribute all coupons upon completion of the round (we hope in the next 2 weeks). Meanwhile, you may use the Promo Code NEWZ to get one month of free remittances in Canada (and soon UK).","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-09-24T04:47:14Z"}]},{"id":13893,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:13893","question":"hello, I'd like to know if my investment went through? I am still labeled as \"bank transfer will be initiated\" and I am certain that I invested on time before you closed it down. Can you let me know please?","author_name":"Carlos Salas Porras Soule","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-09-20T00:20:00Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-13893","answers":[{"id":13922,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:13922","answer":"Hi CARLOS, I forwarded your question to the staff at WeFunder and will get an answer shortly. Thanks Alan","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-09-20T03:10:28Z"}]},{"id":10845,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10845","question":"When are you lunching this service in any USA state ? Since it is based on California, when are going to support California ?","author_name":"Sibaranjan Pattnayak","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-07-12T14:10:00Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10845","answers":[{"id":10874,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10874","answer":"Sibaranjan; Thank you for the great questions. We are planning on launching in the U.S. later this year. It is very expensive and takes a long time to obtain money transfer licenses in the U.S. so we decided launched in Canada and U.K. and and optimize our product / market fit while we finalize a partnership that will enable us to launch in every state, including California, before the end of the year. Thanks for your question. Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-07-12T23:42:45Z"}]},{"id":10844,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10844","question":"Why are you targeting just low skill worker ? Why is it not marketed properly to onboard new users aggressively?","author_name":"Sibaranjan Pattnayak","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-07-12T14:07:58Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10844","answers":[{"id":10847,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10847","answer":"Sibaranjan; All remittance companies target high skilled immigrants due to the larger volume of money they send home which drives advertising costs higher. The high skilled immigrants, who have access to multiple online sources, leverage this \"buyer's market\" to their advantage by switching loyalties to the lowest cost provider. While the amount per transfer may be higher with high skilled immigrants, the overall volume of remittance is much higher from low skilled immigrants that comprise over 90% of the immigrant community. Low skilled workers, on the other hand, are usually forced to use a local remittance shop and pay higher fees. They benefit the most from a low cost online/mobile solution like ZipZap and will be more loyal than the high skilled immigrants. Of course we don't deny service to high skilled workers as long as they are happy with our lower transaction and daily /monthly limits- we just don't focus on them for marketing. Finally, the upsides of having a high volume, low value strategy for ZipZap include lower fraud rate and better positioning for a possible acquisition down the road by a major telephone company or a social network that prefer this model. Thank you again for your question. Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-07-12T14:56:28Z"}]},{"id":10836,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10836","question":"what is revenue share mount?","author_name":"James Lewis","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-07-12T02:36:17Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10836","answers":[{"id":10837,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10837","answer":"Hi James; Thanks for your question. Our Affiliate referral fees vary from $5.00/referral for Community Centers and Retail Ambassadors to the following for online affiliates: $0.50/transfer for single use transfers $1.50/mo for monthly subscription $15.00/year for annual subscription We also offer one month free, unlimited remittances for any customer referring their friends and family who will also get one month free unlimited remittances (valued at $25) to try our service. Thanks again for your questions. Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-07-12T02:57:42Z"}]},{"id":10822,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10822","question":"1) How do you plan to use the funds raised from wefunder? 2) How are you currently aquiring new customers? What form of advertisement are you relying on? 3)Can we review 2016 and 2015 financials to conduct our due diligence. Thanks, Nick","author_name":"Nick Sing","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-07-11T10:07:51Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10822","answers":[{"id":10826,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10826","answer":"Nick; Thank you for your questions. Please see my responses below: 1) We plan to use the funds from this fundraising to launch and acquire new customers in the U.K. and Canada 2) We use a combination of online marketing (Google, Facebook, Instagram) and offline (retailers, community centers) marketing with emphasis on affiliate marketing and referral programs 3) Our financials are posted on our SEC filings as listed on our WeFunder profile Thank you again for your questions. Best Regards; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-07-11T15:16:08Z"}]},{"id":10501,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10501","question":"Hi - do you intend to install a business to business transaction model which could be a great payment tool for small businesses around the world?","author_name":"Wally Bruchman","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-22T15:30:36Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10501","answers":[{"id":10502,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10502","answer":"Wally; Thanks for your question. We do indeed plan to offer B2C and B2B solutions to small to medium businesses in the U.S., Canada and U.K. by the end of the year. Best Regards; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-22T15:50:33Z"}]},{"id":10418,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10418","question":"Is it possible to transmit money to Japan from the states at this time? If not do you plan to have this faculty in the future?","author_name":"Venkat Ramaswamy","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-15T17:04:59Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10418","answers":[{"id":10431,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10431","answer":"Hi Venkat; Thank you for your great question. According to the World Bank Bilateral Remittance Matrix (published yearly), the remittance volume form Canada to Japan is only $151M in 2015 which is negligible compared to the other receiving countries that we are targeting initially like India, China and Philippines. However, as we are expanding to other markets in the coming months, we may be able to offer remittances to Japan after we launch in the U.S. where the remittance volume to Japan is $1.5B+. Thanks again for the great question. Best Regards; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Dylan Enright","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-06-16T20:52:12Z"}]},{"id":10412,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10412","question":"What's the usp compared to some of the Blockchain mobile apps that allow you to send money way cheaper and some of the banks are now implementing remittance Mobil app features such as Zelle which has partnered with Wells Fargo including others, Not to mention Ripple Here is more info on Zelle. Zelle is the new way to send money directly between almost any U.S. bank accounts. With just an email address or mobile phone number,1 you can now quickly send money to people, regardless of where they bank. And, with our mobile app, you can request money, too. It looks like your goin after the same niche.","author_name":"Joe Acosta","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-15T04:21:41Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10412","answers":[{"id":10413,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10413","answer":"Joe; Thanks for the good question. Since we offer a hybrid currency solution, we have all the benefits of blockchain only remittance companies (Ripple, Bitcoin, Litecoin, alt coins) AND the traditional SWIFT payments utilized by banks! Zelle is a peer to peer network operating in U.S. domestic market only similar to Venmo, Snap cash, Facebook Messenger and now Apple iMessage. None of these P2P platforms allow cross border payments for many reasons including government regulations, licensing and compliance for cross border payments. ZipZap is focused on cross border remittances not domestic payment. We already have our license in Canada and are about to finalized our license in the U.K. We also have multiple payout options around the world which took years to establish, soon to grow to 50+ countries by the end of summer and 200+ by the end of the year! Keep in mind that a majority of the population in the developing countries such as Asia Pacific (Philippines, Indonesia, Vietnam), LATAM (Mexico, Brazil, Venezuela) Middle East and part of Africa are still mainly cash based and the idea of a mobile to mobile remittance app like Zelle is not in their foreseeable future. This is why we offer our app to the Senders in the developed countries ( Canada, U.K) but allow the recipients to collect their remittances in cash if they prefer. In summary, we feel that global P2P remittances is a much better market for us to focus on than domestic P2P payments which is highly competitive and low margin. Thank you again for the good question. Best; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-06-15T05:47:46Z"}]},{"id":10411,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10411","question":"the usp compared to some of the Blockchain mobile apps that allow you to send money way cheaper and some of the banks are now implementing remittance Mobil app features such as Zelle. Not to mention Ripple Here is more info on Zelle. Zelle is the new way to send money directly between almost any U.S. bank accounts. With just an email address or mobile phone number,1 you can now quickly send money to people, regardless of where they bank. And, with our mobile app, you can request money, too.","author_name":"Joe Acosta","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-15T04:21:27Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10411","answers":[]},{"id":10281,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10281","question":"How are you planning to compete with XOOM in USA ? XOOM is backed by PayPal and provides money back guarantee.","author_name":"Sibaranjan Pattnayak","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-08T01:48:40Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10281","answers":[{"id":10282,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10282","answer":"Sibaranjan, Thank you for your question. Xoom and many other traditional remittance companies rely on banks' SWIFT system to send money which is slow and expensive. We use a hybrid of SWIFT and Blockchain Crypto currencies which means that we always find the cheapest, most efficient way to move funds. Additionally, Xoom, like all other digital remittance companies, mainly target high skilled migrant workers online which is very costly. We, on the other hand, target 90% of immigrants that are low skilled, usually working for minimum wage and sending about $3000/mo home to their loved ones. This underserved community, which we plan to reach offline at community centers and ethnic events, are very loyal and ideal for micro remittances (less than $100/transfer) which is our focus. So in summary, we differ from Xoom in many ways including platform technology, target audience and market approach. In other words, it's like comparing apples and oranges! However, we do have one thing in common: we too offer money back guarantee! Thank you again for your question. Best, Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-06-08T02:19:07Z"}]},{"id":10242,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10242","question":"With Apple announcing it's own peer to peer payment system via iMessage today...what affect do you anticipate this would have on your market share/utilization and how do you differentiate yourself from what Apple announced today on their developer's forum?","author_name":"Paul Setlak","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-06-05T20:18:42Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10242","answers":[{"id":10243,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10243","answer":"Paul; Thanks for your great question. This move by Apple has been anticipated for some time. They are targeting domestic peer to peer payments similar to Venmo. As our tagline expresses, we are Venmo for International. There is a huge difference in processing a P2P payment between two tech savvy individuals with iPhones in the same country, vs transferring money by a low skilled immigrant to their loved ones (who may or may not have any mobile phones or bank account) in another country. Please note that countries like Philippines, for example, are 80% cash based. The mobile phone penetration rate, while very high in the developed countries like U.S., U.K. or Canada, is still nominal in many developing countries and most of the phones that are in existence are Android phones not iPhones. There are also many compliance and regulatory issues that need to be dealt with in each market in addition to the last mile payment issue which is why Social media companies like Facebook that launched P2P payments on Messenger have not extended it to international remittances. These tech companies' main strategy is to grow the customer base domestically by offering a free P2P domestic payment service and then monetize their user base by directing them to spend the money at participating merchants. Meanwhile, our plan is to grow rapidly in the ext few years and dominate the Micro Remittance segment (remittances below $100) and be an acquisition target for these tech companies that would be mainly interested in High Volume, Low Value transactions similar to their domestic P2P payments. Thanks again for the good question. Best Regards; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-06-05T20:42:30Z"}]},{"id":10101,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10101","question":"Hello Again, After reading your answer , I checked your pitch deck flow diagram again, My query still stands on how you are making the process faster in the route of Globe bill, as it is following the same old long process ? Have you like, kept your own funds reserved with the partner banks, who immediately use them to make the transfer on receiving a message from you and behind the scenes , old swift transaction takes place and your funds get filled in again ?About bitcoin, where exactly the exchange happening ? Does your partner banks agreed to accept it ? Also, one major concern, I have read many times, as not to see bitcoins as a commodity or currency but as medium of exchange. Do you think, in long term , your idea shall work ?","author_name":"Mansi Dhawan","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-30T07:42:47Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10101","answers":[{"id":10117,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10117","answer":"Hi Mansi; The diagram shows two possible options: The traditional SWIFT payment rail (e.g. GlobeBill) or Bitcoin (e.g. BTC China). The SWIFT option would be similar to other legacy remittance companies where we wire funds in advance and keep on hand for quick remittances. The Blockchain/ Crypto currency option would not require a deposit with our bank partners. We would simply buy the crypto currency as needed in real time and send it to our local partner to pay out to immediately pay recipients in the local currency. We did not show all other crypto currencies in the diagram in order to simplify it. However, we are open to working with any option that saves our customer time and money. We do not care whether Bitcoin, LiteCoin, or any other alt coin wins in the long term as the main advantage of our platform is that it is currency agnostic so we can route the transfer through whichever currency is the best for our customer. Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-30T21:59:11Z"}]},{"id":10098,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10098","question":"Hello , Thank you for your prompt reply on my query. Your answers clears a lot. could you name some banks for example basis, with whom you have local partnerships. My concern here is here, the partnership is valid for that particular branch or all the branches, as remitting country area is huge and how are you covering the same ?","author_name":"Mansi Dhawan","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-30T07:26:16Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10098","answers":[{"id":10107,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10107","answer":"Mansi; We do not publicly publish our bank partner names for competitive reasons but you can see the list of all banks that we are able to provide services for by simply registering online at app.zipzap.me and attempting to send a remittance. After you create a recipient profile and choose \"Bank Transfer\" as Method of Payout, you will see a drop down list of all banks we are able to process remittances to. I hope this clarifies it for you. If not, please email me at alan.safahi@zipzap.me with our contact info and I will call you to discuss in more detail. Best Regards; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-30T15:13:43Z"}]},{"id":10086,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10086","question":"Does your service cater directly to illegal non-citizens? Do you have a plan to vet customers if they are not legal status citizens of said host country? I am concerned that this service will be a tool that specifically aids illegal non-citizens in \"host\" countries. I use \"host\" sparingly since that country is NOT knowingly or legally providing home and economic services to to those abiding outside the law of that country. I hope my point is 100% clear to you. Again, I am only referring to illegal non-citizens, not legal ones with green cards, H1Bs etc.","author_name":"Ryan Riehl","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-29T05:04:52Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10086","answers":[{"id":10087,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10087","answer":"Hi Ryan; Thanks for your question and valid concerns. We are currently only live in Canada but we plan on going live in the U.K. within weeks and U.S. within months. Regardless of the country that we originate remittances from, however, we will perform a complete and thorough Know Your Customer (KYC) authentication and validation process in accordance with local regulations. We also check each customer against U.S. Treasury Department's Office of Foreign Asset Control (OFAC) which lists individuals, groups, and entities, such as terrorists and narcotics traffickers. Additionally, the Sender is required to have a valid bank account to be able to pay ZipZap for the remittance which provides another level of authentication. We have also implemented very strict transaction, daily and monthly limits which would discourage the ZipZap platform from being used for money laundering or other nefarious activities. Thank you; Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-29T06:11:59Z"}]},{"id":10030,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10030","question":"Hello, I'm Gregory Brazer; A private investor. I opted for the funding of project projects in order to help financially the serious people with projections. If you need funding contact me. This is my mail:braziergregory001@Outlook.fr","author_name":"Brazier Gregory","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-26T10:34:29Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10030","answers":[{"id":10050,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10050","answer":"Thank you Brazier. have a nice day Alan","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-26T14:54:04Z"}]},{"id":10022,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10022","question":"One big market for remittances is Mexican migrants in the US sending money to their families in Mexico (estimated size USD 27 billion per year). You are not in the US yet (although I have read you are planning to enter through a partnership with a company that has already a license). But you are not sending to Mexico either. What are your plans in this regard?","author_name":"J Lapi","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-26T04:30:23Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10022","answers":[{"id":10023,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10023","answer":"Joan; Thank you for your great question and correct observation. You are absolutely right about US-Mexico remittance corridor which is among the largest in the world. We definitely plan to launch this corridor when we have our agency agreement in place which we hope would be around October 2017 (just in time for the holidays!) Thanks again for the great question. Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-26T04:44:44Z"}]},{"id":10019,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10019","question":"Hi Alan, In onne of your answers, you indicated that financial statements are available on wefunder. I'm unable to locate any document here other than your Pitch deck. Can you please guide me ? Your plan also shows a USA/UK launch in 2017/2018. do you plan to raise again ?","author_name":"Sri Pendli","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-26T02:36:13Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10019","answers":[{"id":10020,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10020","answer":"Sure. Please send me an email (alan.safahi@zipzap.me) and I will provide it since I cannot add an attachment here. Our current fundraising plan will cover us for U.S. / UK launch.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-26T02:44:12Z"}]},{"id":10016,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10016","question":"It seems like you will need much more capital to obtain \"money transmitter licenses\" in the U.S. Or do you have those already? If not, why do you not need them? What revenue run rate are you on currently and what is the revenue history since your launch in 2011? Which acquirers do you foresee other than Western Union or MoneyGram?","author_name":"John Richards","votes":1,"created_at":"2017-05-25T22:54:38Z","canonical_url":"https://wefunder.com/zipzap#question-10016","answers":[{"id":10017,"entity_id":"wefunder:comment:10017","answer":"John; Thank you for the great questions. You are right about the cost of money transfer licenses in the U.S. that can run into millions of dollars (including license, bond, recurring fees, audit expenses, etc) not to mention that it would take up to 3 years to acquire licenses in all states which is why we are partnering with an established licensed money transmitter to launch under their license as an agent. Our revenue run rate is less than $1,000/mo so we have plenty of runway left! The revenue history is already listed on WeFunder under Financial History. As far as potential acquirers, I actually think social media companies (e.g. Facebook, WeChat) or Telephone companies (e.g. China Mobile Ltd., Verizon, AT\u0026amp;T, China Telecom) would be ideal acquirer because (1) it is natural for people to send money while they are talking to or chatting with their loved ones and (2) social media and telecom companies have all the data they need to target their customers for remittances (3) they will acquire an exiting remittance company with global reach for fast market entry and (4) they prefer remittance companies with High Volume, Low Value transfers and we are the only remittance company focused on micro remittances (transfers below $100)! Thank you again for the great questions. Have a wonderful day! Alan Safahi, CEO ZipZap, Inc.","author_name":"Alan Safahi","votes":0,"created_at":"2017-05-25T23:16:39Z"}]}],"faq":[{"question":"Hi Alan, the remittance and payments space is an exciting area around the world. But I'm not entirely convinced by ZipZap and have some questions here which I hope you can answer: (1) I don't know if you should be calling ZipZap a blockchain solution; essentially you're taking...","answer":"Hi Edwin; Thank you for your question. Please see my responses below: (1) You are correct. We are not a blockchain solution, we are a hybrid between traditional payment rails and crypto currencies such as Bitcoin hence we are not dependent only on one rigid method. (2) Our last round of $1M+ seed round in June 2014 was capped at $10M and we have since accomplished a great deal of progress (obtained licensing, completed all apps, launched to 3 largest remittance countries,...) which justifies ..."},{"question":"Hi Alan, thanks for the swift response. I'm looking at ZipZap's profile on Crunchbase and your seed round in 2014 also had investors like 500, Scott Banister, Brock Pierce and his Blockchain Capital? I don't see ZipZap on Blumberg's portfolio page though. Of your seed investor...","answer":"Hi Edwin, Blumberg Capital was our lead investors in our first round in 2011 and contributed to our last round in 2014 as well. I have not checked their web site but I assume if we are not listed, it is because they may have other new startups that they are showcasing who may need the exposure more than we do! This does not mean they don't support us, though. We have been very fortunate to have investments and support from many top- tier VC's and angels such 500 Startups, Alex Morcos, Ben Dav..."},{"question":"Hi Alan, I was wondering if you had envisaged that bitcoin as currency is volatile. Since you will be routing people's money via SWIFT and bitcoin, don't you think of the adverse effect volatility could have on Zipzap in the event bitcoin nosedive as a result of market sentime...","answer":"Hi Babs; Great question. Neither ZipZap nor our customer has any currency risks with Bitcoins (or any other crypto currencies we use). Our exchange partners guarantee the rates for a certain amount of time which varies by partners and regions. We quote our customers based on these guaranteed rates and buy Bitcoins and send them to our exchange partners only if remittance is initiated within that window. Otherwise the transfer is voided and no Bitcoins are purchased. The scenario your describe..."},{"question":"1) How do you plan to outcompete Abra, Venmo, Vodi, Zelle and Apple's forthcoming Venmo-clone? 2) Since it's been six years since your seed round, you are now (or will be) fighting network effects of the aforementioned and if you're not the lowest-cost remitter and/or with val...","answer":"J.W. In regards to your first question, I already responded to a generally similar question above titled \"How are you positioning against the competition?\" so I invite you to read that first. There is also a competition chart above under the heading of \"The Solution: Combining SWIFT \u0026amp; Blockchain\" which I hope addresses your question on key competitors. Of course, there are many others that are not listed there but none of them offer a hybrid Currency Router which is the core of our techno..."},{"question":"Hello, I would like to know why you chose google ads as a marketing strategy. How do you plan to promote ZipZap at the moment of transfer? Will you have presence at banks, CVSs and similar places where people transfer money? Is there a viral aspect to your strategy? Is there a...","answer":"Alena; Google ads is just a visible part of our marketing strategy but definitely not the only part. Our core marketing strategy is an affiliate marketing through partnerships with retail agents and online partners who wish to offer their customers a better remittance experience and earn revenues at the same time. The biggest part of our marketing strategy, however, is a unique \"refer a friend\" program that provides both our customer and their referred friend one month of free, unlimited remi..."}]}}}