BankiFi, a fintech business specialising in payment processing and financial administration services for SMEs, has secured a £2.2m investment in a funding round led by Praetura Ventures, with participation from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority (GMCA).
BankiFi applies Open Banking technology to enable banks to provide a set of integrated services, including invoicing, payments, cash management and accounting, which are designed to help businesses reduce time spent on financial administration.
The firm, which received backing from Nationwide Building Society in November 2019, was founded in 2017 by Mark Hartley, who previously scaled payments technology provider Clear2Pay, which was sold to FIS for circa €375m in 2014. BankiFi’s CFO is Chris Fry, who was previously a partner at KPMG.
Says Hartley: “SMEs and early-stage innovators are a vital pillar of our economy and will play an important role in UK’s post-pandemic recovery, but many continue to be hampered by inadequate banking services. BankiFi want to change that by putting banks at the heart of businesses’ day-to-day needs. Our software allows them to offer advanced services to SMEs, and we’re seeing a real uptick in demand for our products as banks look to compete in this space."
The £1.5m investment by Manchester-based Praetura Ventures is joined by an additional £700k from GMCA. Hartley says the new funding will allow BankiFi to expand its product and service offering, grow its client base and target new domestic and overseas markets.