The investment will support the company’s ambitious growth and expansion plans in Europe and US to unlock a potential market worth over $20 trillion.

The funding round is backed by NTT DATA, one of the world’s largest IT companies and technology solutions provider to Fortune 100 companies and technology investor Ventura Capital, who led the pre-Series A investment of Hi55 Ventures.

Hi55 Ventures has pioneered a global first from a UK fintech with a completely new type of business finance called Pay Asset Finance. Through this new asset class, Hi55 Ventures’ new platform, Hi, is reinventing pay to unlock working capital for companies and enable faster salary payments to employees.

Hi55 Ventures is founded with strong commitments in environmental, social, and governance at the heart of its business. Already, this has been recognised with its accreditation as a social enterprise by Social Enterprise UK and pending B-Corp status following rigorous assessment processes.

Commenting on the fund raise, David Brown, founder and CEO of Hi55 Ventures said: “Hi has created a revolutionary new asset class, Pay Asset Finance, that delivers liquidity to employers and gives employees access to their money as they earn it.

We are challenging the paradigm that it’s ok for employees to work for 30 days without being paid for the work they’ve done. It’s not. At the same time, we’ve created an unrivalled employee-benefit and laid the foundations for financial services providers to create a new range of products that will serve the needs of millions of people around the world as they win financial freedom from monthly pay.”

The Series A funding round announcement today comes after a successful 12 months for Hi55 Ventures including:
• Social Enterprise accreditation and pending B-Corp status in recognition of Hi55 Ventures’ founding commitments for ESG
• Global partnership with renowned IT company NTT Data to develop the payroll access technology
• Membership to Microsoft for Startups - a programme designed to help B2B startups scale at pace
• Strategic partnership with Mastercard to bring the product to market at scale
• Appointment of former Chancellor of the Exchequer, Lord Norman Lamont, as a board advisor to further bolster the expertise of the team
• Pilot scheme programmes in collaboration with investment-grade corporations

The company’s pre-Series A funding helped bolster its executive C-suite and product development in the last year. In addition to international expansion plans, the Series A capital will be used for solutions and technology development as Hi55 gears up to launch accessible pay for everyone.

Mo El Husseiny, Founder and Managing Partner at Ventura Capital said: “We are pleased to be the first institutional investor in Hi55 Ventures as they launch their acclaimed product in the market. The Hi Pay Asset Finance model opens up a secure and parameterized alternative asset class for institutional investors and we are fully supportive of their mission to disrupt payroll while making life easier for employees all over the UK and Europe. Hi has a strong revenue model, ambitious sales plan and sophisticated payroll technology through their partnership with NTT Data.”

David Costa, Everis UK CEO at NTT Data company comments: “The Hi proposition is truly disruptive, and we’re excited to see how our expertise can bring the product to life in the coming months. Introducing a new asset class with the workforce in mind is exactly what the industry needs as we recover and reboot for the future.”

David Brown continues: “We’re delighted to be working with partners who share our ambition to empower employees with an offer that has global reach and universal appeal. This Series A raise puts us in a strong position to deliver Pay Asset Finance and realise our mission to reinvent pay.”