Australian FinTech firm Zeller doubles valuation to over $1B with $100M raise

Zeller, an Australia-based FinTech firm, said Thursday it has raised $100 million in Series B round at a valuation worth of $1 billion.

The Series B, which saw Zeller more than double its valuation, was led by US-based Headline, with additional funds contributed by Australian industry superannuation fund Hostplus, Zeller said in a statement.

Previous investors, including Square Peg, Addition, and Spark Capital, also returned to participate in the round.

Zeller said it will invest funds to launch a range of revolutionary new payments and business banking capabilities to cater for the needs of it’s rapidly growing customer base.

Following a highly successful launch year signing up over 10,000 Australian businesses within eight months, the firm is doubling down on development of its fully integrated financial operating system for business owners.

“We’re excited to be entering Zeller’s next growth phase, as we rapidly expand our product range to offer businesses access to every financial services product they might need to thrive. Listening to feedback from over 10,000 businesses who joined Zeller in our first eight months helps us to continually build new products that meet their evolving needs, as they reestablish themselves following the pandemic,” said Ben Pfisterer, Zeller Chief Executive Officer and Co-Founder.

“In collaboration with our growing Australian customer base, we hear that they want a single financial services solution that brings together every product they need to run and grow their business,” he said.

Zeller provides Australian business owners with a fully integrated payments and financial services solution, including a next-generation EFTPOS terminal, business transaction account, and Mastercard, all within one kit available online and in Officeworks stores nationally. The growing number of businesses who are reevaluating their payments and financial services providers has seen Zeller sign up thousands of businesses, with over 80 percent switching from an incumbent provider. Customer research from Zeller revealed that three in five business owners left traditional banks as a result of dissatisfaction with outdated technology, poor reliability, and ongoing reductions to bank services including branch closures and customer support.

“Zeller is well on its way to redefining how financial connectivity is delivered to Australian businesses, following in the footsteps of the tectonic shifts in the global business to business (B2B) fintech ecosystem”, said King Goh, Principal at Headline.

“Businesses of all sizes are now expecting their financial services to be provided via a best-in-class, consumerized experience given the rapid evolution in modern data availability and business needs. Zeller’s remarkable growth over the past eight months is a testament to how they are reimagining the traditional business banking industry. Ben and the team have built strong core products, and we are looking forward to working with them to grow and expand on this foundation,” he said.

Zeller announced the upcoming launch of omnichannel commerce capabilities, enabling merchants to accept payments online with Zeller. Business owners will be able to use Zeller payment processing when selling products or sending invoices online, and then track sales and analyse all payments data across every sales channel from Zeller Dashboard. A holistic, 360-degree view of customer interactions with their business will help merchants make smarter resourcing and investment decisions.

“With the accelerated displacement of cash, we have seen in-person card payments experience unprecedented growth. Yet over 9 million Australians transacted online last financial year, so it’s critical that businesses can accept payments wherever their customers are. Delivering the tools to accept payments and get a complete view of their business, be it in-store or online, is our first step into seamless omnichannel commerce. New integrations with industry-leading website and e-commerce platforms will give our customers a single view of their business and reduce the complexity of having to navigate numerous, disparate systems and providers,” said Pfisterer.

Zeller’s financial services products, including the fee-free Zeller Transaction Account and Zeller Mastercard, have gained rapid adoption since launch with the majority of customers now using it as their sole business financial services system. This year Zeller will accelerate development of new financial services solutions that will give merchants the ability to manage more of their business from their Zeller Account — from payments, to expense management, finances, credit and more.

“Our team set out to reimagine business banking by delivering a two-sided finance services operating system. We’ve built new solutions from the ground up that redefine how merchants accept payments, manage finances, and spend their funds. Banking should no longer be purely transactional — it’s about connecting buyers with sellers, and enabling merchants with a better understanding of how their customers, suppliers and employees interact with their business.” said Pfisterer.

“This year we will deliver innovative financial services to further replace outdated business banking solutions — including next-generation banking capabilities, enhanced credit and debit cards, expense management, lending, and more. We want Zeller to be at the centre of a business’ financial ecosystem, enabling them to have a complete view of every customer interaction and the overall health of their business,” he added.

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