Elevate raises $5m to expand further into South Asia

ISLAMABAD: London- and Dubai-based fintech Elevate has raised $5 million in funding to expand into South Asia.
They have raised a total of $10 million in equity and debt from investors including Y Combinator, Goodwater, Global Founders Capital and VSQ, and have signed up more than 50,000 freelancers and remote workers and more than 150,000 people from Pakistan since the beginning of this year, he said.

After receiving an unprecedented response from Pakistani freelancers in a short period of time, Elevate aims to facilitate more than 500,000 Pakistani freelancers and remote workers to increase their business.
Elevate makes it easy to get free and fast deposits from US and international employers, as well as USD payments by supporting platforms like Upwork, Fiverr, Paypal, Deel and Toptal.
Elevate offers market-leading FX rates for online payments via virtual debit card and home delivery.
When customers top up their Elevate account, the funds are deposited into the 172-year-old Bangor Savings Bank in Maine, USA.
Bangor Savings Bank acts as a deposit-taking institution and card issuer, and as a member of the FDIC, customer deposits are FDIC insured up to $250,000.
It is the only service to open FDIC-insured US bank accounts for people in countries like Pakistan, Bangladesh and the Philippines.
Elevate CEO Khalid Keenan said, “Freelancing and remote work will be a major source of foreign income for emerging markets.
Existing platforms like Payoneer don’t serve the area with huge fees. Our mission at Elevate is to make payments fast and easy for freelancers and remote workers at the lowest possible cost, added Khalid.