About World First
World First is a company based in London (United Kingdom) founded in 2004 was acquired by Ant Group in February 2019. World First has completed 1 acquisition, including CurrencyVue. World First operates in a competitive market with competitors including Remitly, Euronet Worldwide, Azimo, Xoom and BookMyForex, among others.
- Headquarter London, United Kingdom
- SectorsFinancial Services
- Website category Finance · Financial Planning and Management
- Website worldfirst.com/global
- Social LinkedIn X Facebook Instagram YouTube
- Acquired by Ant Group (Feb 2019)
- Legal Name World First Uk Limited
- Date of Incorporation 21 Jan, 2004
- Jurisdiction LONDON
Apps and channels of World First
its YouTube channel WorldFirst has 33K subscribers and 30 videos.
Videos from World First
The most watched videos on World First's YouTube channel, WorldFirst (33K subscribers). Click a video to play it here.
More on WorldFirst.
Funding Insights of World First
- Total Rounds 1
- Investors Count 3
All 1 funding rounds of World First with amounts and investors; the two latest post-money valuations are shown, the rest are part of the premium plan.
| Date | Amount | Transaction Name | Valuation | Lead Investors | Investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Nov 2013 | – | Series A | – | FTV Capital |
4 investors in total: 4 institutional.
Investors in World First
World First has secured backing from 4 investors, including venture fund and institutional investors. Prominent investors backing the company include Ant Group, FTV Capital and Industry Ventures.
| Investor | Description | Founded Year | Domain | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
Private equity investment firm | – | ftvcapital.com | San Francisco, United States | |
Investments in private tech ecosystem are made by Industry Ventures. | – | industryventures.com | San Francisco, United States | |
- | – | stepstoneglobal.com | - | |
Payment processing solution for consumers, small and micro businesses | 2004 | antgroup.com | Hangzhou, China |
Investor details for World First
The complete investor list, round-by-round participation and investor portfolios require an active premium plan.
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- Investor portfolios
- Co-investor network
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People of World First
22 people are tracked at World First (9 in leadership, 13 in team).
| Name | Role | Group |
|---|---|---|
Rick Hill | Head Of Sales | Leadership |
Sara Yingying Liao | Head Of Risk And Aml, EMEA | Leadership |
Clara Shi | CEO | Leadership |
Sumit Arora | Managing Director - EMEA (eea And Middle East) | Leadership |
Emmanuel Kpaga | HEAD OF GTS TEAM - UK & EEA | Leadership |
Brandon Harris | Head Of Merchant Services - UK And EEA | Leadership |
Lizzie Drake | Interim Chief Compliance Officer - World First UK Limited | Leadership |
Selim Ethem | Head Of QA & Complaints | Leadership |
Tomasz Janyst | Regional Head Of EMEA Compliance | Leadership |
Bo Liu | Global Sales Operations Manager | Team |
Shirleen Sim | Senior Key Account Manager (tl) | Team |
Jim Vrondas | Country Manager | Team |
Santina D. | Quality Assurance Analyst | Team |
Jon Lee | Talent Acquisition Manager - EMEA Lead @ Ant Group/worldfirst | Team |
Louisa Tan | Senior Corporate Sales Executive | Team |
Cressilda T. | Senior Key Account Manager | Team |
Nicholai Tan | Senior Key Account Manager | Team |
Casey Akpotor | Inside Sales Executive | Team |
Aaron Oxley | Key Account Management | Team |
Emmanuel Nettey | Business Development Manager - UK And EEA | Team |
2 more people are available in the full profile.
Complete people profiles for World First
Full employee and board profiles, team structure, tenure and professional contact details require an active premium plan.
- Full employee list
- Team structure
- Board tenure
- Professional contacts
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Investments & Acquisitions by World First
World First has strategically engaged in corporate development activities, having acquired 1 company. Notable acquisitions include CurrencyVue.
| Company Name | Description | Domain | Location | Founded | Acquired | Amount |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
FX currency management software is provided for business risk assessment. | currencyvue.com | Sydney, Australia | 2015 | Mar 2019 | •••• |
Complete acquisition details for World First
Acquired stakes, deal sources and the complete acquisition history require an active premium plan.
- Acquired stakes
- Deal sources
- Complete history
- Exports
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Timeline of World First
4 dated milestones of World First across 15 years, from founding to its latest funding, stage changes and deals.
- Founded World First is founded.
- Funding First funding round.
- Exit Acquired by Ant Group.
- Acquisition Acquires CurrencyVue.
Competitors of World First
World First operates in a dynamic and competitive business environment, facing competition from various established players and emerging companies in the market. The competitive landscape includes prominent companies such as Remitly, Euronet Worldwide, Azimo, Xoom and BookMyForex, among others.
| Company Name | Domain | Founded | HQ Location | Total funding | Employees | Description |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| remitly.com | 2011 | Seattle, United States | $1.65B | 2,700 | Cross-border money transfers are facilitated via banking networks. | |
| euronetworldwide.com | 1994 | Leawood, United States | – | 10,000 | Electronic payments and transaction processing solutions are offered globally. | |
| azimo.com | 2012 | London, United Kingdom | $68.82M | 164 | Cross-border money transfers are enabled via a digital banking channel. | |
| xoom.com | 2001 | San Francisco, United States | $106.44M | 42 | Cross-border money transfers are enabled via banking channels. | |
| bookmyforex.com | 2011 | Gurugram, India | $5.59M | 231 | Online foreign exchange and remittance services are facilitated in India. | |
| ofx.com | 1998 | Sydney, Australia | – | – | International money transfer service provider. | |
| nala.com | 2017 | Nairobi, Kenya | $50.15M | – | Cross-border remittances are enabled online for individuals worldwide. | |
| smallworldfs.com | 2005 | London, United Kingdom | – | 867 | International money transfers are provided to consumers worldwide. | |
| usepayday.com | 2021 | Vancouver, Canada | $5M | – | Payday is recognized for offering global money transfer and virtual card services. |
Detailed competitors of World First
The full competitor set, operating metrics and side-by-side benchmarks require an active premium plan.
- Full competitor set
- Operating metrics
- Benchmarks
- Competitive positioning
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Web traffic of World First
The website of World First (worldfirst.com) receives about 785K visits a month and ranks #45,054 among all websites worldwide, #2,873 in Financial Planning and Management.
- Monthly visits785K
▼ 25% vs previous month
- Unique visitors370.6K
per month
- Global rank#45,054
among all websites
- Category rank#2,873
Finance · Financial Planning and Management
- Bounce rate42%
- Pages per visit4.2
- Average visit2 min 55 sec
- DevicesDesktop 46% · Mobile 54%
Websites whose visitors overlap most with World First. Affinity shows how closely the audiences match.
| Website | Domain | Audience affinity | Monthly visits | Global rank | Profile |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
currencies.co.uk | currencies.co.uk | 100% | – | – | – |
| currencyfair.com | 87% | 298.9K | #164,195 | View details | |
| torfx.com | 85% | 118K | #403,500 | View details | |
smartcurrencyexchange.com | smartcurrencyexchange.com | 83% | – | #1,287,919 | – |
travelex.co.uk | travelex.co.uk | 80% | – | #191,793 | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
| •••••••••• | ••••••.com | ••% | •.•M | #••••• | – |
All 40 similar websites and full traffic analytics for World First
The complete similar-websites list, audience overlap and engagement analytics require an active premium plan.
- 40 similar websites
- Audience overlap
- Engagement analytics
- Traffic by brand
Verified entity values are shown only after access is granted.
Latest news on World First
Complete news archive for World First
Full article history, source details, and older brand coverage require an active premium plan.
- Full article archive
- Source and publication date
- Older coverage
- Brand-specific news history
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Similar companies to World First
10 companies that operate in the same segment as World First (Payments & Remittance Platforms), ranked by their profile score on The Company Check.
| Company | Description | Founded | Location | Total funding | Revenue | Employees |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Digital payments, financial services, and e-commerce platforms are provided. | 2000 | Noida, Uttar Pradesh, India | USD 4.14 B | – | – | |
Payment, financial, investment, and lending services are provided digitally. | 2012 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 1.71 B | – | – | |
Payment processing and card issuance solutions are provided for businesses. | 2009 | San Francisco, California, United States | USD 9.81 B | – | – | |
Cloud-based accounts payable and receivable software for businesses | 2006 | Palo Alto, California, United States | USD 325.6 M | USD 1.65 B | 2,360 | |
Payment and business banking solutions are provided for enterprises. | 2014 | Bengaluru, Karnataka, India | USD 742 M | USD 302.19 M | 2,641 | |
Spend management and accounts payable solutions are delivered to businesses. | 2019 | New York, New York, United States | USD 3.21 B | – | – | |
Payment acceptance and processing solutions provider for businesses | 2018 | Gurugram, Haryana, India | USD 604.02 M | USD 179.52 M | 709 | |
Business spends, payments, and rewards are streamlined by automated workflows. | 2011 | Hyderabad, Telangana, India | USD 13.75 M | USD 149.43 M | 431 | |
Online payment processing and credit solutions are provided for businesses. | 2002 | Amsterdam, Netherlands | USD 35.15 M | USD 5.47 B | 1,200 | |
SaaS-driven credit card and spend management solutions platform for businesses | 2017 | Draper, Utah, United States | USD 1.16 B | – | 1 |
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Frequently Asked Questions about World First
World First was founded in 2004 and raised its 1st funding round 9 years after it was founded.
World First is headquartered in London, United Kingdom. It is registered at London, England, United Kingdom.
World First was founded in 2004 in London, United Kingdom, and operates in the financial services sector focused on foreign exchange and payments. Currency exchange and international payment solutions are offered to both individuals and businesses. A white-label money transfer platform is provided for operators handling cross-border transactions. Integrated tools, including the Autopay API for trade and payment automation, are also available to support cash flow management.
World First's top competitors include Azimo, Euronet Worldwide and NALA.
World First has made 1 acquisition, including CurrencyVue.
World First has 4 investors. Key investors include Ant Group, FTV Capital, Industry Ventures, and StepStone Group.
World First operates through World First Uk Limited.
Yes. World First was acquired by Ant Group in February 2019.
The website of World First receives about 785 thousand visits a month and ranks #45,054 among all websites worldwide.