Azupay secures A$10m investment from Ellerston Capital to supercharge growth
Innovative Australian payment fintech Azupay have announced an equity investment of A$10 million from investment manager Ellerston Capital, via the Ellerston JAADE Australian Private Assets Growth Fund, and facilitated by corporate advisory group, TMT Partners. Azupay continues to advance its ambition to transform real-time payments with these new funds aiding the acceleration of growth and to drive further product innovation.
Established in 2019, Azupay is a payment service provider with a range of products and services enabling consumers, businesses, and government agencies to make and receive instant and safe payments on a 24/7 basis from a bank account without the need for a debit or credit card.
Azupay’s products are built on the New Payments Platform (NPP), a real-time payment system mutually owned by 13 major Australian institutions, including the RBA and big four banks. The NPP was formed following regulatory design and industry collaboration to ultimately replace legacy payment platforms including direct debit and direct entry.
Azupay CEO, John Murphy said “Ellerston’s backing of Azupay is further demonstration of investor support as we continue to transform the real-time payments landscape in Australia, helping businesses accelerate cash flow and reduce their payment processing costs. Now is a pivotal time for many Australian businesses and real-time payment solutions can play a powerful role in their health and success.”
Azupay solutions are designed for the digital economy simplifying the payment experience and reducing administration overhead, typically required to manage account receivables and payables. It offers a faster, safer and smarter way for Australian businesses to pay and get paid.
A recent development includes Azupay’s integration with leading online accounting platform, Xero. PayID powered by Azupay is the first real-time payment option using the NPP and unique PayIDs or QR codes. This partnership, the first of its kind to integrate with Xero, is an example of the NPP being used as part of a large-scale accounting solution allowing small businesses to receive payments in seconds instead of hours or days, significantly improving cash flow and facilitating straight through reconciliation.
The investment from Ellerston will be used to rapidly grow Azupay’s customer base and accelerate its product innovation plans, including PayTo, the next generation of real-time pull payments, which is due for release mid-2022. The company intends to expand its partnerships with State and Local governments which to date includes an ongoing and growing relationship with Service NSW.
Justin Diddams from Ellerston Capital said, “I am delighted Azupay are joining the portfolio of exciting Australian growth companies already in the Ellerston JAADE Fund. We have been impressed by Azupay’s innovative payment solutions, as the only player specialising in NPP-powered payment methods, front-running product development and innovation in the domestic real-time payment industry. Azupay benefits from being a key pillar in the supply chain delivering real-time payments to businesses and consumers. We are pleased to support Azupay’s accelerated growth ambitions in Australia and globally.”
Ellerston’s investment in Azupay builds on the company’s early support received from Tattarang, one of Australia’s largest private investment groups, who became a shareholder in Azupay in mid-2020.
