m-Via, the company revolutionizing how immigrant and unbanked families save and share their wealth, today announced it has closed a $17 million financing round led by Digicel Group.

The company has also changed its name to Boom Financial. Digicel Group Ltd, the best value mobile operator across 31 markets, including the Caribbean, Central America and the South Pacific, led the financing round, with participation from existing investors RRE Ventures and MATT.org. Boom Financial has raised more than $30 million in funding to date.

Boom Financial will use this investment to expand its product team in the U.S., as well as to increase sales channels and distribution in the U.S., Latin America, and the Caribbean. The funding solidifies Boom's status as the premier mobile banking brand for the unbanked and immigrant population in the U.S., which is the largest market for originating cross-border remittances in the world.

"Digicel believes in providing the best value to our customers," said Colm Delves, CEO 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 $5 billion a year in cash remittances from the U.S. 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(TM) mobile money service is the first to completely eliminate the need for traditional cash wire-transfer services, providing a safe, economical and easy way to send money. Boom members can use their mobile phones to make low-cost, bank-grade domestic and international money transfers and payments via a simple text message. Members can also make purchases and withdrawals at thousands of participating Boom merchants and at over 100,000 Boom ATMs in more than 150 countries.

"Our partnership with Digicel further validates Boom as the premier U.S. brand for mobile financial services for immigrants and their extended families across the Americas," said Bill Barhydt, CEO of Boom Financial. "Digicel's extensive coverage in key Boom markets such as Haiti and Jamaica will accelerate our reach into these markets."

About Boom Financial Boom Financial has revolutionized how families save, share and spend their wealth on a global scale with its Boom mobile banking, payments and money transfer service for the U.S. immigrant population and their extended families. In 2011 Boom Financial, together with the U.S. State Department, co-founded the International Diaspora Engagement Alliance (IdEA) to engage Diaspora communities in the United States. Founded in 2008 as m-Via, Boom Financial is headquartered in Palo Alto, California, with offices in Los Angeles and Mexico City.