O’Brien invests €14m in Boom

Denis O’Brien’s Caribbean-based mobile phone company Digicel has invested $17m (€14m) in California-based Boom Financial.

The company develops technology for the mobile banking and money transfer sector, and enables cross-border remittances by immigrants in the US market.

It plans to use the Digicel investment to increase its sales channels and distribution in the US, Latin America, and the Caribbean. Boom Financial had raised $30m in funding prior to the Digicel investment.

“Digicel believes in providing the best value to our customers,” said Colm Delves, chief executive of Digicel Group.

“Our investment in Boom Financial is a reflection of the strong value of the Boom service and the high-quality company that the team has built. Digicel’s customers in the Caribbean and Central America receive more than $5bn a year in cash remittances from the US. Working with the Boom Financial team, we will seed a mobile banking ecosystem in these markets that eliminates the high fees and safety issues associated with cash remittances.”

The Boom mobile money service is the first to eliminate the need for traditional cash wire-transfer services, providing a safe, economical, and easy way to send money, says the company.

Users can make money transfers and international payments using the text service on their mobile phones. Boom has 100,000 ATMs in over 150 countries, which allows customers to make transfers, payments, and purchases.

“Our partnership with Digicel further validates Boom as the premier US brand for mobile financial services for immigrants and their extended families across the Americas,” said Bill Barhydt, chief executive of Boom Financial.

“Digicel’s extensive coverage in key Boom markets such as Haiti and Jamaica will accelerate our reach into these markets.”

Digicel has 12.8m customers in 31 countries in the Caribbean, Central America, and South Pacific. Its last set of results for the financial year ended Mar 31, showed a 13% increase in profit before tax of $1.1bn.