Remitly, whose mission is to make international money transfers easier and cheaper, began trading shares on the Nasdaq on Thursday. The Seattle-based firm will raise more than $300M in net proceeds as part of the IPO. Remitly reportedly sold 7 million shares through the offering priced at $43 each.

Why should we care?
By going public, Remitly follows money-transfer fintech Wise, which went public in July. These moves signify the growing competitiveness of the cross-border payments space, an area traditionally dominated by large banks. Remitly expanded its cross-border payments play with the launch of the Passbook app last year, which gives users access to banking services through a partner bank. In its IPO prospectus, Remitly cites the growth of cryptocurrency-related services as a risk. “The advancement in the development of cryptocurrencies has led to new entrants in the market for remittances and financial services more generally, including companies that have traditionally focused on social networks,” the document said. “If we are unable to integrate cryptocurrency or other new financial technologies into our services, we may be unable to compete successfully.” The company, which is not yet profitable, is betting on broader financial services product offerings for immigrants as part of its forward strategy. The company said it’s looking to “broaden customers’ options” for accessing financial services while diversifying revenue sources across multiple products.