The global cross-border payments market, valued at $212 billion in 2024, is expected to grow to $320 billion by 2030, driven by demand for faster transactions and advancements in payment systems.

Riva Money, a blockchain-powered payments firm, has successfully raised $3 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Project A, with contributions from angel investors affiliated with Revolut, Monzo, and J.P. Morgan.

The company plans to utilize the funding to expand its operations globally, targeting markets in Europe, Asia, and North America, while also enhancing its engineering team.

To support its international expansion, Riva is pursuing regulatory authorizations in the UK and EU, including MICA and VASP licenses in Europe and Switzerland.

Riva's CEO, Niklas Hoejman, emphasized the goal of enabling instant, cost-effective global money movement for businesses, addressing the limitations of legacy systems.

Riva's technology leverages blockchain, particularly stablecoins, to facilitate international payments efficiently, offering flexibility between blockchain-based systems and traditional fiat networks.

The funding will be used to enhance Riva's payment infrastructure, targeting improvements in cross-border money transfers that currently face delays and high fees due to traditional banking processes.

The company aims to reduce the high costs and long settlement times of cross-border payments, which can take up to five days due to routing through various banks.

Malin Posern, a Partner at Project A, emphasized the importance of Riva's dual-rail system which combines speed and flexibility, positioning the startup to lead in the next generation of payment services.

Founded in 2025 by Niklas Hoejman and Mahendra Katoch, both with extensive backgrounds in international finance, Riva aims to revolutionize payment services by addressing inefficiencies in the existing systems.