Remittance processor Remitly valued at over $8 billion after strong market debut

A man shows off the Remitly app that he uses to send money to his family in Mexico in this photo taken in San Francisco, California March 30, 2016. REUTERS

(Reuters) -Shares of Remitly Inc opened more than 23% above their initial public offering (IPO) price in their Nasdaq debut on Thursday, giving the remittance processor a market capitalization of roughly $8.5 billion.

The listing comes amid a fertile market for newly issued shares, particularly those of tech companies, which led to recent strong debuts for restaurant software provider Toast Inc and enterprise software firm Freshworks Inc.