Payment Rails, a Canadian startup building an API-first payouts platform for businesses, has won a high-profile backer in the shape of ex-PayPal president Scott Thompson, who has invested in the firm and signed on as a board advisor.
Founded in 2015 and currently in public beta ahead of a launch next month, Payment Rails is an API-first payouts platform that enables companies to send fast and low-cost payouts to on-demand workers, suppliers, and employees globally.
The startup's infrastructure uses blockchain and Ripple to optimise treasury and liquidity management, and uses AI and machine learning to boost payment routing based on speed, cost, partner and FX rates.
Thompson has been joined by current and former execs from Visa, Slack, Currencycloud and American Express in Payment Rails' latest seed round, which brings total investment to $1.1 million.
Says Thompson: "The leadership team at Payment Rails brings an expert-level knowledge of the payments industry and a profound understanding of the verticals they serve. Payment Rails will be a leader in next-gen payment solutions for tomorrow's global workforce."
Ferhan Patel, president, Payment Rails, adds: "We are thrilled to have Scott join our team as an advisor and investor. Scott is an industry giant having led PayPal and making it a dominant force in payments. His experience and expertise will be extremely valuable as we scale our platform globally."