Galileo raises $77 million to expand global card processing

Galileo has raised $77 million in its first round of venture capital funding backed by Accel and Ryan Smith, CEO of the software firm Qualtrics.

Salt Lake City, Utah-based Galileo, founded in 2000 with a focus on prepaid cards, will use the cash infusion to expand to new geographic markets and enhance its products, Galileo said in a Thursday press release. The company has grown its reach in card issuing and processing in recent years.

Galileo’s clients include TransferWise and the teen-targeted payment card Current, and it manages $26 billion annual payments volume, up 130% over a year earlier, according to the release.

“We’re in a golden era of fintech innovation and Galileo has quietly built the API infrastructure layer powering the industry’s most innovative products,” said John Locke, an Accel partner, in the release. Locke will join Galileo’s board, the release noted.