Pomelo Officially Launches Product Combining Credit and International Money Transfer

Pomelo has announced its official launch after several months of private beta.

The company is launching with $70 million in seed financing that includes $20 million in venture capital and $50 million in warehouse facility, the company said in a Monday (April 22) press release.

Pomelo offers a product that combines credit and international money transfer, according to the release. The company’s credit card lets families in the United States extend their credit abroad, without remittance fees.

It is now available to serve its first corridor: the U.S.-Philippines corridor, per the release.

“Pomelo is on a mission to change how international money transfer fundamentally works,” Eric Velasquez Frenkiel, founder and CEO of Pomelo, said in the release.

“Our goal is to help our customers establish their financial future here in the United States by building positive credit history with their existing remittance obligations, and to financially include their loves ones in emerging economies with access to modern financial instruments,” Frenkiel added.

The Pomelo Mastercard is issued by Coastal Community Bank, pursuant to a license from Mastercard International, according to the release.

The card comes with a mobile app that allows cardholders to invite their loved ones abroad to join their family plan, at which point Pomelo will send them a virtual card instantly and a physical card via courier delivery, the release said.

Each purchase made with the Pomelo Mastercard gets the best real-time exchange rate, and there are no transfer fees for customers, per the release. Pomelo is paid by the merchant via interchange.

Pomelo also offers a secured version of the Pomelo Mastercard for those who have little or no credit, according to the release. This option allows customers to establish or build credit with funds they would normally remit.

Coastal Community Bank President and CEO Eric Sprink said in the release: “Pomelo gives U.S. immigrants and their families an opportunity to build a financial future, which is why we were eager to be involved.”

Pomelo teamed up with Galileo Financial Technologies in November 2022 to add that company’s application programming interface (API)-enabled technology to the Pomelo card.

Galileo said at the time that Pomelo’s solution provides flexibility and accessibility while broadening financial inclusion.