65. Atlantic Money: a transparent, low-cost way to send money abroad

Founders: Neeraj Baid and Patrick Kavanagh
Year founded: 2020
Website: atlantic.money

As American expats living in London, Atlantic Money cofounders Neerj Baid and Patrick Kavanagh found themselves having to frequently send money across the pond.

Growing increasingly annoyed at getting stung with hundreds of pounds worth of fees for what was essentially an automated service, they decided there had to be a better way to send money abroad. That’s where the idea for Atlantic Money was born.

Having honed their skills as employees of American financial services company Robinhood, they devised a simpler, low-cost solution to their problem: international money transfers for a fixed (no, really) price.

Atlantic Money provides customers with the option of sending money internationally at the live exchange rate for a flat £3 fee (up to a limit of £1,000,000).  Building connections with the world’s interbank exchanges has allowed the platform to convert money at a live rate. 

This sets the startup apart from the big-name industry rivals like Wise. Rival international money transfer services will charge a percentage based fee (the bigger the transfer, the bigger the fee). Atlantic Money customers are guaranteed to pay no more than £3 per turn.

It’s an elegant solution to a common financial problem that has plagued both expats and international businesses alike. So it’s no surprise to see Baid and Kavanagh have already received seed funding of $7.5m. They’re also backed by key investors including Index Ventures, Amplo, and Kleiner Perkins.

At Startups, we appreciate new ideas that disrupt traditional environments and offer original and bold solutions to old problems. Which is why our judges decided Atlantic Money, as the first and only fixed fee money transfer service, deserved a place on our Index for 2025. 

So next time an expat has to send money back home to Nan for her birthday, you know who to thank for that low-cost fee.