GoCardless joins tech unicorns as it secures A$437 million to accelerate open banking growth and PayTo plans
GoCardless, a leading fintech in direct bank payment solutions, announced that it has secured a Series G funding round of A$437 million, making it one of the latest European and UK tech unicorns at a valuation of AUD $2.9 billion.
The investment is led by Permira’s Growth Opportunities fund, which brings significant experience in backing best-in-class payments and financial software businesses including Klarna, Clearwater Analytics and Carta. New investor BlackRock Private Equity Partners also joined the round. The funding will allow GoCardless to accelerate its growing footprint in the open banking space through both product and geographical expansion as it targets becoming the world’s leading network for direct bank payments.
In Australia, GoCardless is committed to having its platform ready for the regulated launch of PayTo in the middle of 2022, as part of a competitive strategy to beat the banks to market and provide a faster, cheaper and more secure alternative to credit cards. Merchants who use PayTo through GoCardless will also be able to access the company’s global direct debit network. This will enable them to create sophisticated payment strategies, optimising for instant authentication, cost or experience.
Luke Fossett, Director ANZ at GoCardless, said, “We see PayTo as a true disruptor, an example of technology that will quickly scale and challenge the dominance of cards. Not only does it offer merchants instant account-to-account payments with greater protection against fraud and failed payments, PayTo also gives payers more control, visibility, and security. We’re excited to launch PayTo with our first customers, BizCover and Simply Energy, and look forward to helping many others offer this powerful payment option to their clients.”
GoCardless processes more than $25 billion in transactions per year and serves over 70,000 businesses around the world, including DocuSign, Klarna, TripAdvisor and Epson.
Hiroki Takeuchi, Co-Founder and CEO of GoCardless, said, “The rise of open banking presents a once-in-a-generation shift, one that will change the way payments happen all over the world. I am delighted to have partners like Permira and BlackRock Private Equity Partners on board, with their global footprint and strong expertise in tech, to support us in building a direct bank payment network that lets payments flow freely, without cards, expiration dates or extra costs. I look forward to working with them and our new board members to accelerate the future development of GoCardless.”
As GoCardless builds on its decade-long experience in direct bank payments, the company will broaden its focus to enable both recurring and one-time payments, and continue its international expansion. It will also open its ‘bank pay’ network to other payment service providers who want to tap into its technology and platform.
