Balance, a digital checkout platform for B2B businesses has emerged from stealth mode with $5.5 million in seed funding from, among others, Max Levchin's SciFi VC and Stripe.
Lightspeed Venture Partners, Y-Combinator and UpWest joined the round, which comes as Balance officially launches a self-serve digital checkout platform it claims will transform the online payments experience for B2B companies.
The platform lets any merchant, marketplace or SaaS company that sells goods and services online and offline offer their buyers a wide array of payment methods and terms, and get paid instantly.
Balance says users get a payment experience that is as convenient as consumer checkout, automatic collection, reconciliation and settlement, instant, automated financing, and APIs for developers.
Bar Geron, CEO, Balance, says: "B2B online payments, and E-commerce specifically, far outpace their counterparts in B2C. Yet, the digital experience lags behind, creating missed opportunities for growth. Most online business purchases today are made via credit card, while transactions via the preferred methods for most businesses — like wires, checks, and ACH — remain offline.
"This is because the process is incredibly challenging, often involving offline quotes and invoices, multiple phone calls and emails, and long payment delays. Balance manages all of this complexity behind an elegant checkout experience and makes offering flexible payments methods and terms as easy as using a credit card."