Sling Money Raises $15 Million for Money Transfer App

Stablecoin-centric money transfer app Sling Money has raised $15 million in new funds.

Sling’s app combines stablecoin technology “with a user-friendly interface” and integration with fiat payment systems for easier money movement, according to a Thursday (Aug. 15) news release.

“With Sling Money, users can easily send money instantly across 50+ countries across Europe and Africa to other users, between their own accounts, or even to non-Sling users with a Sling Link,” the release said. “A user can transfer money from Paris to Nairobi in seconds, then on to Bucharest, Stockholm, and Amsterdam, for free.”

Transactions take just seconds with little to no fees, the company said, arguing that this type of transfer typically takes hours or even days and costs the sender a percentage of the transaction.

Transfers on Sling Money are performed with Pax Dollar (USDP), a dollar-backed stablecoin issued by Paxos Trust Company.

“We believe that money should work the same way everything else on the internet works – that it should be easy to use, it should be fast, and it should be global,” said Mike Hudack, co-founder and CEO of Sling Money’s parent company, Avian Labs.

“The evolution of stablecoins and real-time payments systems around the world makes this possible. This capability has existed for a while now, but it’s been hidden behind complicated, user-confounding interfaces. Our goal is to fix that.”

The funding comes as consumers still face some obstacles when it comes to transferring money, according to recent PYMNTS Intelligence research.

“FinTechs’ Instant Payments Mismatch,” a collaboration with Ingo Payments, shows that 47% of FinTechs allowed consumers to send peer-to-peer (P2P) transfers, while 41% let them receive these transfers — increases of 10 percentage points for sending and 9 percentage points for receiving between the third quarter of 2022 and the second quarter 2023.

“This progression is great news for FinTechs because data shows P2P transfers rank as the number one service consumers expect when using a FinTech provider,” PYMNTS wrote recently. “However, the report — which is based on surveys with nearly 2,300 U.S. consumers and 150 FinTech issuers — also found that FinTechs would benefit by better aligning their services to the needs of their customers.”

While consumers are more likely to patronize FinTech providers that provide a wide array of fund transfer options and fast transactions, FinTechs trumpet convenience and customer experience as their top features.

“This could spell trouble if FinTechs don’t change course,” PYMNTS wrote.