UK fintech Crezco has secured funding and integrated its technology into global business platform, Xero. Crezco uses open banking to make B2B invoice and bill payments as convenient as B2C card payments. The fintech has secured $12m in Series A funding from MMC Ventures and fintech-focused 13books capital to enable further growth. And its recent agreement with Xero has resulted in the technology partnership being integrated into its bill payment feature. This will be launched to UK small businesses at the end of November.
UK first for Xero
The partnership is underpinned by Crezco’s account-to-account payments API. Xero becomes the first UK major small business cloud accounting software to offer on-platform bill payments using open banking.
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The solution will allow small businesses to simply and securely manage, approve and pay their bills without leaving Xero’s platform. To achieve this, Crezco uses open banking, leveraging account-to-account (A2A) payments.
Xero research found that 50% of UK small businesses are worried about their financial future amidst economic uncertainties. By leveraging Crezco’s technology and API, Xero’s new bill payments feature can help small businesses have a more accurate view of their cash flow.
A large number of open banking companies have launched, focusing on different market segments and the ability to bypass traditional payment providers’ fees.
Crezco differentiates itself by targeting B2B platforms highlighting the improved user experience. It says it is not about replacing card payment with something cheaper. Instead, it highlights the ability to replace manual bank transfers with something more convenient.
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By GlobalDataB2B payments sector: addressable market increases daily
Ralph Rogge, founder and CEO at Crezco, said, “A2A payments allows Crezco’s partners to move the point of payment from the bank to their platform. This is not just a domestic transfer solution. We connect real-time payments everywhere and it’s one of the most obvious examples of embedded payments.”
Crezco believe that the B2B payments sector remains a larger and less addressed market than B2C. The total addressable market increases daily as small businesses move away from the use of paper invoices, desktop spreadsheets, cash and cheques, and towards digital, cloud-based solutions.
Crezco international ambitions
Oliver Richards, Partner at MMC, added: “The agreement between Xero and Crezco is a great opportunity for open baking to address SME payments in the UK and, over time, internationally. It’s a transformational moment for the company. We’re excited to be backing Ralph and the team at this critical point in their growth.”
Michael McFadgen, Partner and Co-Founder at 13books Capital, said: “While there are many exciting opportunities in the arena, it was Crezco’s continued focus on the SME and their payment challenges, domestic and international, that led to our investment.”
