Payment startup Due raises $3.3 million in seed to develop blockchain-based platform

London-headquartered payment startup Due secured $3.3 million in a seed funding round led by Semantic and Fabric Ventures.

Due — which built its platform on top of decentralized networks to facilitate international transactions through non-custodial accounts — said in a statement shared with The Block that the seed round also drew participation from BlockTower, Speedinvest, Polymorphic Capital and Discovery Ventures.

“The fresh capital will be used to further develop Due’s technology and to expand its fiat currency connectivity to more markets,” said the company.

Established last year, the company is currently building a platform that connects domestic payment rails using open and interoperable blockchain protocols, according to the statement. By building on Ethereum and using its various scaling solutions, Due “aims to empower underserved and emerging markets with uninterrupted access to global liquidity, while facilitating transactions at much lower costs and significantly faster settlement times compared to traditional methods,” it added.

A system 'riddled with inefficiencies'

Robert Sargsian, co-founder and chief executive officer of Due, said that the current global financial system, especially in emerging markets, is riddled with inefficiencies. “Accepting payments from overseas, paying to international vendors, or even moving funds between accounts in different countries is expensive, slow and hard to access,” he continued.

Due is set to launch this month with corridors connecting the U.S., Europe, the UK and Sub-Saharan Africa, according to the company. It plans to expand into Latin America and Asia Pacific in the first quarter of next year.