Microfinance International

About Microfinance International

Microfinance International Corporation (MFIC) provided a global, real-time payment and remittance settlement network. The company was founded in 2003 by Atsumasa Tochisako. Over its active years, MFIC raised a total of $30.7 million in funding over three rounds, with its final Series B round in October 2011 securing $8.74 million, led by KDDI.

The core of MFIC's offering was the ARIAS payment processing system, a comprehensive platform for small-value money transfers. ARIAS connected sending and receiving institutions through a central data processing and settlement hub, enabling real-time payments across a network of over 35,000 locations in more than 90 countries. The platform served a diverse client base, including banks, payment processors, mobile payment providers, money transfer companies, and online payment systems in Europe, the US, and Canada. The system was designed to handle a large volume of small cross-border payments, incorporating functionalities for compliance, foreign exchange rates, risk management, and commission structures. It featured various interfaces, including a consumer website, an API for integration with mobile and PoS devices, and connections to payment systems like ACH and SEPA. According to Tracxn, the company is no longer active.