Munify, a cross-border neobank tailored for the Egyptian diaspora, has raised $3 million in seed funding led by Y Combinator, with participation from BYLD and DCG. The startup aims to address the persistent challenges of remittance services, offering faster and more affordable money transfers to Egypt. Munify also provides U.S. banking access to Middle Eastern residents using only local IDs.
Founded in 2025 by Khalid Ashmawy, who previously worked at Microsoft and Uber and co-founded Huspy, a proptech platform in the Middle East, Munify seeks to modernize the remittance process. Ashmawy’s personal experience with slow and expensive remittance processes inspired him to launch the startup. The platform enables users to instantly open a USD account, receive a virtual card, and send money home at competitive rates—all from a single app.
Egypt is one of the world’s largest remittance markets, receiving nearly $30 billion in annual inflows. Traditional transfer methods often involve high fees and lengthy processing times. Munify aims to streamline this process by building its own payment rails, directly linking banking systems across countries, and reducing reliance on third-party providers.
The startup has already signed contracts with mid-sized companies and enterprises representing over $50 million in projected monthly cross-border transaction volume. Early adoption has been strong, with thousands of sign-ups since the platform’s launch two weeks ago. Munify operates on a dual consumer and business model, offering remittance and banking services for individuals while providing APIs for businesses to send and receive cross-border payments.
With the backing of Y Combinator and other investors, Munify plans to expand beyond Egypt to other Middle Eastern and adjacent countries, gradually connecting regional banking infrastructure. The startup aims to capitalize on the growing demand for cross-border banking services and the increasing confidence of Egyptians abroad in the stability of the Egyptian economy.
Munify’s innovative approach positions it to disrupt the traditional remittance market and offer a faster and more cost-effective solution for Egyptians abroad.
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