Modulr, a Payments-as-a-Service applications programming interface (API) platform, has secured new investment from FIS Ventures, the corporate venture arm of global financial technology provider FIS, for an undisclosed amount.
FIS plans to leverage Modulr’s API-based payments infrastructure to facilitate and automate real-time, business-to-business, payments in the UK and Europe as part of FIS’ broader real-time payments strategy.
Myles Stephenson, CEO at Modulr comments: “FIS and Modulr share the same ambition, to enable businesses to move fast and transform their payment processes, software and experiences in line with the digital world. We look forward to working with FIS to develop and deliver better payments solutions and innovative services to businesses of all sizes.
“It’s great validation for Modulr to have investment from such a large global player. We’ve had validation prior to that in terms of venture capital investment and the Banking Competition Remedies fund award win, but to have that followed with a strategic investment from FIS, who know and understand the industry inside out, is great validation of our business model and the opportunity that is in front of us.”
Modulr is tapping into the massive business-to-business payments digitisation opportunity by working with software platforms that serve small and medium-sized businesses. 2020 was a breakout year for the company as it signed up a number of large enterprise customers, despite the macroeconomic challenges posed by COVID-19.
Asif Ramji, chief growth officer at FIS, said: “Our investment in Modulr is a key component of our comprehensive vision at FIS to bring the full power and potential of real-time payments to organizations at a global scale. Working with Modulr, we’ll be able to help our clients in the UK and EEA market accelerate their journey to digital payments, as well as work towards delivering a suite of new global real-time payment propositions.”
Modulr enables digital businesses and software platforms across a growing range of sectors including lending, banking, fintech, travel, employment services and accounting to easily automate, embed and build new payment services within their customer journey. With its full-stack Payments-as-a-Service API, it handles much of the complexities and regulatory overhead, so that its clients can focus on their own unique value proposition.
In the last year, Modulr became a directly connected participant of the Bacs scheme, alongside direct participation in the Faster Payments scheme, enabling Modulr to settle and hold funds at the Bank of England. Modulr has further added direct access to Visa and Mastercard, as well as delivering innovative new products including Payment Initiation and Confirmation of Payee. Modulr was most recently granted an electronic money licence from the Central Bank of Ireland which marks an important step in the company’s European ambitions.
“We are very excited about Modulr, the value proposition and the calibre in quality of the partners and clients the company has signed up. It’s remarkable what Myles and the team have been able to achieve in just five years, and we’re very thrilled to be part of their long term growth journey as an investor to help accelerate that growth,” said Joon Cho, head of venture investing at FIS.
