Denarii
Dubai-based money transfer technology platform whose assets and key team were acquired by Careem in July 2022.
Industry: Cross-border payments and remittance technology | Location: Dubai, United Arab Emirates | Founded: 2019
About Denarii
Denarii was a money transfer technology company. In Careem's announcement of 1 July 2022 it is described as a Dubai-based platform that connects fintechs and financial institutions with remittance aggregators, banks, exchanges and wallets worldwide, and that lets customers send international transfers through a single API call. It also automated accounts payable and business-to-business payments, and offered a mobile app, a web platform and an API for consumers, businesses and fintechs.
Careem says Denarii was founded in 2019, while Foxmont Capital's portfolio page gives 2017 and describes a Philippines-linked wallet service for overseas Filipino workers and small businesses; the two sources are not reconciled here. Jon Edward Santillan was chief executive and co-founder, and Walfrido Serrano Perez was co-founder, listed as chief technology officer by Foxmont. Careem says the founders started the company after graduating from the MISK500 Accelerator run by 500 Global. Tatler Asia named Santillan to the Gen.T List 2021 in the finance category and describes Denarii Pay, an accounts payable product for paying vendors and contractors locally and internationally.
Careem's announcement lists Class5 and Merak Capital among the backers, with Mountain Partners, Foxmont Capital, IMO.VC and angel investors. Denarii took part in Hub71, the Mohammed Bin Rashid Innovation Fund and the Dubai Chamber Accelerator, and received an incentive grant from the Abu Dhabi Investment Office. Foxmont says it invested in 2021.
On 1 July 2022 Careem announced that it had acquired the assets of Denarii, with some key team members joining Careem. No price or terms were disclosed. Careem said it would use the technology in Careem Pay to offer remittances through licensed providers across the UAE, Saudi Arabia and Pakistan.