Centbee raises $1m in pre-Series A funding round led by Ayre Ventures

Centbee, a blockchain payments company based in London, has closed its pre-Series A round with $1 million in investments from Ayre Ventures.

The additional investment from Ayre Group will enable the company to scale and grow as well as strengthen its technical and operating capacities.

Founded by entrepreneur Calvin Ayre, Ayre Ventures made its first investment on Centbee in 2019.

“My faith in Centbee has been rewarded through Angus and Lorien’s ongoing commitment to making Bitcoin–the original protocol in the form of BSV – easily usable and accessible to everyone. Unlike other blockchains, BSV is focused on utility, not speculation, and Centbee is working hard to further Bitcoin’s adoption as a true peer-to-peer electronic cash system,” Ayre said.

Lorien Gamaroff, Centbee’s co-CEO, said they operate guided by the right vision. Their products and team members also drive the exponential growth of their investors.

Gamaroff said consumers around the world are looking for better, easier ways to pay, and their blockchain-based payment wallet does just that.

Their latest feature, ChatPay, makes it so much easier to send money via an in-wallet chat application.

Centbee was founded by Gamaroff and his co-CEO Angus Brown. It is headquartered in London in the United Kingdom and has offices in South Africa.

Gamaroff is a leading expert in blockchain technologies and cryptocurrencies. He has consulted and advised regulators and corporates internationally. He is also highly regarded globally as an educator and presenter.

Brown is also highly regarded in his field with his 20 years of experience in payments and banking, including the role of CEO of eBucks.com, a world-first bank-backed digital currency created in 2000.

In the early part of 2022, Brown was also appointed Chairman of the BSV blockchain’s Technical Standards Committee.

Brown said Centbee has a suite of digital cash products and services that make payments easy, even cross-border.

He said that Minit Money, their cross-border remittance service, enables people to move money simply and cheaply across borders to support their family and friends. Minit Money has already processed over 35,000 remittances into Africa.

Centbee and Minit Money apps are available on Apple Store, Google Play store and the Huawei app gallery.