Pomelo
Pomelo was a San Francisco-based consumer fintech that offered a Mastercard-powered credit card combining credit building with international remittances for US-based families sending money to the Philippines, India, and Mexico. Founded in 2021, it was acquired by Zepz in January 2026.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2021
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Pomelo does
Pomelo is a San Francisco-based consumer fintech founded in 2021 that built a credit card platform combining credit building with international money transfer services. The company's core product, the Pomelo Card, is a Mastercard-powered credit card that enables US-based families to extend credit internationally, build credit, and send remittances with no transfer fees and real-time exchange rates. It initially served the US-Philippines corridor and later expanded to US-India and US-Mexico, integrating directly with mobile wallets such as GCash for last-mile disbursement in the Philippines.
The business model is transaction-fee based, with revenue generated from credit card interchange on cardholder spend and from foreign exchange margin on cross-border money transfers, while end users are positioned as paying zero transfer fees. Pomelo distributed its product directly to consumers through digital self-serve onboarding following a private beta, targeting US-based families and cross-border workers who historically faced high remittance costs and lacked access to credit products that span borders. The company raised approximately $95 million in venture capital plus warehouse credit facility commitments across a 2021 seed, a 2022 seed-plus-warehouse round, and an April 2024 Series A with warehouse expansion, from investors including Vy Capital, Founders Fund, A* Capital, Afore Capital, The Chainsmokers, Xfund, and Buckley Ventures.
In January 2026, Pomelo International, Inc. was acquired by Zepz, the London-based global payments group operating WorldRemit and Sendwave, as part of Zepz's strategic expansion beyond pure remittances into cards, lending, and credit services for cross-border communities in the Global South. Following the acquisition, the standalone Pomelo product was temporarily paused pending integration into Zepz's broader product roadmap, and Eric Frenkiel remains listed as founder and CEO.
Pomelo firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Pomelo
- Legal name
- Pomelo International, Inc.
- Website
- https://pomelo.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2021
- Operating status
- Acquired
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Pomelo was a San Francisco-based consumer fintech that offered a Mastercard-powered credit card combining credit building with international remittances for US-based families sending money to the Philippines, India, and Mexico. Founded in 2021, it was acquired by Zepz in January 2026.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Pomelo industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cross-Border Remittance & Consumer Credit
- NAICS
- Credit Card Issuing (522210)
- SIC
- Personal Credit Institutions (6141)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Cross-Border Card-Based Transfers & Multi-Currency Cards (FSAGAKAE)
Keywords
Where Pomelo is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Pomelo business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Credit Card Interchange: Revenue generated from credit card transaction interchange fees on purchases made with the Pomelo Card
- International Money Transfer: Revenue from cross-border money transfer services between US and Philippines/India/Mexico corridors
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels1 record
Pomelo product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Pomelo offers a Mastercard-powered credit card (Pomelo Card) that combines credit building with international money transfer, enabling US-based families to send money to the Philippines, India, and Mexico with no transfer fees and real-time exchange rates. The platform also features direct fund transfer to the GCash mobile wallet in the Philippines. Following acquisition by Zepz in January 2026, the product is temporarily paused for integration.
Product overview
Pomelo is a consumer fintech company offering a unified platform combining credit and international money transfer services. The core offering consists of the Pomelo Card (a Mastercard-powered credit card) and the Pomelo Remittance Platform, which together enable US-based families to build credit while sending money to the Philippines, India, and Mexico with no transfer fees. The platform differentiates through real-time exchange rates and direct fund transfers to mobile wallets like GCash. Following acquisition by Zepz (parent of WorldRemit and Sendwave) in January 2026, the product is temporarily paused pending integration.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Products and services
- Pomelo Card A credit card powered by Mastercard that combines credit services with international money transfer capabilities, allowing users to build credit while sending money abroad with no transfer fees and real-time exchange rates. Targeted at US-based families with loved ones in the Philippines, India, and Mexico.
- Pomelo Remittance Platform A remittance and credit-building platform enabling US-based users to send money internationally to the Philippines and other corridors, with features including direct fund transfer to GCash and credit-building capabilities for families.
Companies that use Pomelo
Customer profileSegments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Pomelo technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration2 records
Feature4 records
Pomelo partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Three partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.
- ZepzflagshipZepz (parent company of WorldRemit and Sendwave) acquired Pomelo International in January 2026 to expand beyond remittances into cards, lending, and credit services for cross-border communities. The combined entity aims to deepen customer engagement and broaden Zepz's revenue mix beyond money movement. Pomelo's product is temporarily paused during integration.
- MastercardcoreMastercard powers the Pomelo Card, providing the payment network infrastructure for the credit card that combines credit building and international money transfer capabilities
- GCashcoreGCash is a Philippine mobile wallet partnership that enables direct fund transfers from Pomelo users to GCash accounts, facilitating seamless remittances to the Philippines
Scale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Pomelo competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- WireBarley: Asia-focused digital remittance company serving Korea, Australia, and Southeast Asian corridors. Comparable in corridor overlap (Philippines) and digital-first diaspora targeting, though without a credit-card wedge.
- Tala: Consumer lending fintech focused on underbanked customers in emerging markets. Comparable to Pomelo in serving credit-thin cross-border and emerging-market consumers, though focused on lending rather than remittance.
- Niyo: India-based neobank serving cross-border workers and diaspora with multi-currency accounts and card products. Comparable to Pomelo in the India corridor and in combining cards with cross-border banking services for underbanked diaspora.
Direct peers
- WorldRemit: Global digital remittance platform and Zepz's flagship brand; now a sibling brand to Pomelo post-acquisition. Directly comparable in cross-border money transfer across Pomelo's corridors, with a much larger customer base and brand recognition.
- Remitly: US-based digital remittance company focused on diaspora corridors including the Philippines, India, and Mexico. Closely comparable to Pomelo in target customer, corridor strategy, and digital-first GTM, though Remitly is pure-play remittance without a credit-card wedge.
- Sendwave: Mobile-first remittance app focused on African and Asian corridors, also under Zepz. Comparable to Pomelo's mobile-wallet payout model and diaspora targeting, particularly relevant as Zepz integrates Pomelo's card product.
Broad incumbents
- MoneyGram: Cross-border P2P payments and money transfer company with strong corridor presence. Comparable in cross-border remittance focus, though predominantly cash-pickup and traditional rails versus Pomelo's card-led digital model.
- Revolut: Global neobank offering multi-currency accounts, card issuance, and remittance-style transfers. Comparable to Pomelo in combining cards and cross-border money movement, but at consumer scale across dozens of markets.
- Wise (TransferWise): Public cross-border payments company offering multi-currency accounts and card products. Comparable in combining card issuance with cross-border money movement, though at much larger scale and broader corridor coverage.
- Western Union: Incumbent global money transfer operator with extensive agent and digital network across Pomelo's corridors. Represents the traditional competitor that Pomelo's digital, card-integrated model is built to displace.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Pomelo social profiles
Digital presencePomelo financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Pomelo leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles1 record
Pomelo funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds5 records
Investors8 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Pomelo M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Pomelo
What does Pomelo do?
Pomelo offers a Mastercard-powered credit card (Pomelo Card) that combines credit building with international money transfer, enabling US-based families to send money to the Philippines, India, and Mexico with no transfer fees and real-time exchange rates. The platform also features direct fund transfer to the GCash mobile wallet in the Philippines. Following acquisition by Zepz in January 2026, the product is temporarily paused for integration.
Is Pomelo a public or private company?
Pomelo is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently acquired.
When was Pomelo founded?
Pomelo was founded in 2021. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Pomelo based?
Pomelo is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Pomelo make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Credit Card Interchange is the primary driver. The others are international Money Transfer.
Who are Pomelo's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are WireBarley, Tala and Niyo. Direct peers are WorldRemit, Remitly and Sendwave. Broad incumbents are MoneyGram, Revolut, Wise (TransferWise) and Western Union.
Does Pomelo have an API?
No public API is recorded for Pomelo.
What industry is Pomelo in?
Pomelo's product category is Cross-Border Remittance & Consumer Credit. Its primary akta.pro industry code is FSAGAKAE, Cross-Border Card-Based Transfers & Multi-Currency Cards. Its NAICS code is 522210 and its SIC code is 6141.