Australian Eftpos outfit Tyro Payments has scored a A$100 million funding round to help it move into banking, taking on the country's traditional lenders in the battle for small business customers.
After a decade processing payments for thousands of businesses, earlier this year Tyro became the first Oz technology company to be granted a banking licence by the Australian Prudential Regulatory Authority, allowing it to accept deposits and to advance money.
The company has now secured a massive cash injection from Tiger Global Management in New York, TDM Asset Management in Sydney and local tech entrepreneur Mike Cannon-Brookes to fund a move into small business banking.
Jost Stollmann, CEO, Tyro, says: "Tyro is coming together with Australia’s 2.1 million small and medium sized businesses, software and fintech companies to build a new ecosystem that is disrupting the established banks by offering better products and experiences."
Stollmann plans to triple his 150-strong team of software engineers over the next three years to build a suite of cloud-based digital products for SMEs.
"Tyro is poised for breakout growth, driven by innovation and commitment to fair and transparent banking. We will transform banking for SMEs and provide them with frictionless solutions tailored to their needs, so that they can concentrate on growing their business," he claims.