Melio raises $144 mn; simplifying B2B Payments to help Small Businesses

By Pavithra R

New York-based Melio, a B2B payments company helping small businesses to digitally manage their supplier payments, announced that the company has raised $144 million to extend its reach to more small businesses across the U.S. as they shift to digital solutions to help manage the economic effects of COVID-19.

Melio raised $80m in Series C in August 2020, on top of the $48m raised in Series B in March 2020 and the $16m in Seed and Series A, bringing total fundraising to $144m. The investment round saw participation from investors, including Accel, Aleph, Coatue Management, and General Catalyst, with participation from LocalGlobe, Corner Ventures, Bessemer Venture Partners, and American Express Ventures.

The FinTech is planning to use the funding to accelerate its growth and reach more customers. The finance will also support the firm’s plans to provide B2B payment capabilities to third parties, mirroring the development that tech industry has seen with B2C payments. Recently, Melio partnered with Intuit Quickbooks to power one of its bill pay solutions.

“At a time when small businesses need the most flexibility, they have the least. Our mission is to keep small businesses in business. We do this by allowing small businesses to manage payments remotely, paying when and how they want, giving them more control and helping businesses manage cash flow . Business payments shouldn’t be more complicated than paying a friend with your phone,” said Matan Bar, Melio Co-Founder and CEO, who previously led Consumer P2P Payments at PayPal.

Small businesses leverage a variety of tools to manage supplier payments, with almost half of B2B payments carried out with paper checks. Melio’s digital accounts payable (AP) and receivable (AR) dashboard provides a single, integrated tool that enables small businesses to transfer and receive payments in an easier way, giving oversight and control over the cash flow while reducing or eliminating late payment costs, and giving businesses back valuable time.

“We are living in unprecedented times. Small businesses are the backbone of the U.S. economy, yet they are under intense pressure in the current environment. They require as much flexibility and control over their cash flow as possible to persevere. Melio provides the tools to achieve both and will play a critical role with small businesses and vendors to continually adapt, develop, and persist,” said Ken Chenault, former Chairman and CEO, American Express and now Chairman and Managing Director, General Catalyst.

Founded in 2018 by CEO Matan Bar, CTO Ilan Atias and COO Ziv Paz, Melio provides small businesses with digital payments tools to better manage their supplier payments, minimizing time and cost while maximizing cash flow.