Accel-backed Pillow discontinues services in India and Nigeria, users impacted

Crypto management app Pillow has decided to wind down its services and its app. The company revealed its decision to shut its app late Tuesday via an in-app notification sent to all of its existing users.

"As a result of regulatory climate and its impact on associated financial infrastructure, we regret to inform you that Pillow is going to be discontinuing its services from Jun 22, 2023," it said in the notification.

The Decrypting Story has seen a copy of the issued notification.

"Your funds are safe at Pillow but we would urge you to withdraw it at the earliest to facilitate a seamless transaction," the company said. A separate pop-up on the app informed users that the company plans to remove the app from Google Play Store as well as the Apple App Store by July 31.

It will permit user bank withdrawals until July 7, while crypto withdrawals via the platform will be available till July 31.

Last year, Pillow—led by Arindam Roy, Rajath KM, and Karthik Mishra—raised $18 million in a Series A funding round from a clutch of investors that included Accel, Quona Capital, and Jump Capital. In a statement, Pillow said it will return 80% of the funds raised to its investors.

In 2022, the company claimed to have a user base of nearly 75,000 spread across India and Nigeria. At the time, it promised users a 14% APY (annual percentage yield) return on assets invested into the app through any of its cases.

User frenzy

Since Pillow revealed that it would be shutting down its services, several users have tried to withdraw their funds from the app. Some have been facing trouble with withdrawals.

One user who shared their withdrawal data with The Decrypting Story on the condition of anonymity revealed that some requests to withdraw had been pending from as early as October. Several other users have taken to Twitter to share their inability to remove funds from the app with long delays. However, the app says withdrawals can take up to 5 days to be completed.

Ad campaigns promoting the company's services in Nigeria, particularly on Google, seem to remain active.

The company's jobs page still lists several roles for which it is hiring. It is still unclear what the app plans to do.

Pillow isn't the first company to change track following the downturn in cryptocurrency markets. Another competitor in the space, Flint, also decided to pivot its yield-bearing service to launch GasPay, a Web3 solution that allows users to pay gas fees in any token. Flint also cited regulatory hurdles as a reason to wind down its services.

(This story has been updated to reflect a change in the company descriptor and Pillow's official statement.)