Egyptian Fintech Startup Munify Tackles Cross-Border Remittances, Raises $3M in Seed Funding through Y Combinator
Khalid Ashmawy recounted his initial struggle in sending money home while pursuing his master’s studies in Europe. As a student in Stuttgart, he wished to remit part of his monthly stipend to his family in Cairo. However, the process was slow and expensive, with a $400 wire transfer costing $40 in fees and taking three business days to reach its destination.
Years later, while working at Microsoft and Uber in the U.S., and even after founding a startup, Ashmawy found that the remittance issue persisted throughout different stages of his career. This persistent challenge eventually led him to establish Munify, a cross-border neobank designed to provide Egyptians abroad with a faster, more affordable method for sending money home. For residents in Egypt, Munify aims to offer access to U.S. banking services.
In early 2025, Munify joined Y Combinator’s Summer batch, an exceptional inclusion given its origin outside the U.S., and one of the few non-AI focused startups in a class dominated by generative AI companies. The company also secured $3 million in seed funding from Y Combinator and other regional investors, including BYLD and DCG.
“Banking wasn’t designed for people like me,” Ashmawy stated in an interview. “It’s expensive, time-consuming, and fragmented. It’s a problem I have personally experienced, and one that resonates with many individuals seeking swift and efficient remittance solutions.”
Born and raised in Egypt, Ashmawy developed a keen interest in computer science and software early on. He pursued two master’s degrees in Germany and Switzerland after receiving a scholarship, before spending seven years as an engineer and team leader at Microsoft and Uber. These experiences exposed him to the realm of disruptive technologies and startups.
In 2019, Ashmawy left Uber to found Huspy, a proptech platform focused on mortgages in the Middle East, serving as its chief technology officer until 2022. Leaving Huspy provided Ashmawy with the opportunity to reflect on his own immigrant journey, and once again, the issue of remittances surfaced. Simultaneously, platforms like Nigeria’s LemFi and India’s Aspora were gaining traction, helping migrants from those countries send money back home.
Egypt is one of the world’s largest remittance markets, receiving nearly $30 billion in inflows annually. Traditional bank wires and platforms such as Western Union and MoneyGram remain popular options, but Munify aims to become a preferred choice among digital banks offering cheaper and faster transfers.
Munify caters to Egyptians abroad, primarily residing in the U.S., U.K., Europe, and the Gulf, who desire instant remittance services at competitive rates. In addition, Munify offers businesses, remote workers, and freelancers in the Middle East a means to open a U.S. bank account and card using only a local ID for receiving and spending money, as well as hedging against local currency volatility.
“The key differentiator is that we’re building our own rails and directly connecting banking systems across various countries,” Ashmawy explained. The platform, launched just two weeks ago, has already seen early adoption through word-of-mouth, attracting thousands of sign-ups.
On the business side, Munify has signed contracts with mid-sized companies and enterprises, representing a projected $50+ million in monthly cross-border volume. The startup 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.
Munify’s expansion plans include venturing beyond Egypt to other Middle Eastern and adjacent countries, gradually integrating regional banking networks. Its revenue comes from FX spreads, interchange, and payment flows.
Despite Y Combinator’s recent focus on AI and developer tools from the United States, Munify managed to secure its place due to the urgency of the problem it addresses. “If you’re addressing a big and pressing issue, that’s what truly matters, regardless of whether the current trend is AI or something else,” Ashmawy stated. However, there is historical precedence for such backing, as YC has consistently invested in startups solving hard financial infrastructure problems, from Stripe to Coinbase. Remittances remain one of the most ingrained pain points in global finance and a consistent focus area when backing emerging market startups by Y Combinator (such as LemFi and Aspora) prior to its AI-centric shift.
