# ZipZap 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. - Canonical URL: https://wefunder.com/zipzap - Entity ID: wefunder:company:13719 - Last updated: 2026-06-24T05:00:06Z - Generated at: 2026-06-24T19:18:43Z ## Quick facts - Created the first hybrid Currency Router using blockchain & traditional payment rails to significantly cut operating costs - Introduced the first "all you can send" remittance membership model for a low $25/mo - Obtained Money Transfer license in Canada and U.K. - Launched remittances to China, India and Philippines (3 of the largest remittance receiving countries worldwide) ## Active fundraises - wefunder:fundraise:9296: 4(a)(6) successful (USD) ## FAQ 1. **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...** - 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 ... 2. **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...** - 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... 3. **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...** - 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... 4. **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...** - 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 & 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... 5. **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...** - 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... ## Team - Alan Safahi (CEO) - Ben McSweeney (Managing Director - UK) - Herbert Magbanua (Bus. Dev. Mgr. - Canada) - Thomas Singell (Chief Compliance Officer) ## Q&A - Q: Is there an update. - Q: Is ZipZap still in business? I was an early investor - Q: Hi Send me your pitch executive summary we invest in financial inclusion, mw@miruminvest.com - Q: 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? - Q: I like to invest in this company, please send me instruction - A: Sorry. The WeFunder campaign is now closed. However, you can still invest in ZipZap here: www.startengine.com/zipzap - Q: What is the return on our investment? Thank you. JL. - A: 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. - Q: Is there any fist time uses benefits?? Do we recive done coupons? - A: 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). - Q: 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? - A: Hi CARLOS, I forwarded your question to the staff at WeFunder and will get an answer shortly. Thanks Alan - Q: When are you lunching this service in any USA state ? Since it is based on California, when are going to support California ? - A: 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. - Q: Why are you targeting just low skill worker ? Why is it not marketed properly to onboard new users aggressively? - A: 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. - Q: what is revenue share mount? - A: 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. - Q: 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 - A: 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. - Q: 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? - A: 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. - Q: 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? - A: 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. - Q: 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. - A: 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.