Azimo, the digital money transfer service, is taking on high street banks with a new service for businesses.
Azimo Business, which launches on October 19, will allow SME owners across the UK and Europe to pay for goods, salaries and investments in 189 countries and territories.
With pricing that will undercut most banks by at least 75%, the service is aimed at entrepreneurs who are sick of high fees and unreliable technology from high street providers. Michael Kent, Azimo’s CEO, said: “In 2018 it’s unacceptable for business owners to have to fiddle around on an unusable banking website to make overseas payments that take days to arrive, and then to be overcharged for the privilege. We are using our award-winning technology and mobile apps to give small businesses the service and pricing that they deserve.”
Azimo Business has been in beta testing since June. “We’ve had lots of fantastic feedback from customers,” said Mr Kent. “We’ve added more countries than we originally planned, we’ve lowered our fees, and we’ve made it much easier to register and get started.” Payments to China and Hong Kong have taken off particularly quickly, as more and more businesses choose suppliers there.
Azimo Business is available via desktop browsers and also on iOS and Android apps. While consumer mobile banking has improved dramatically in recent years, business payments have not followed suit, says Dan Martins, Azimo’s chief product officer:
“Our research shows that business owners are deeply frustrated by their banking apps. The modern entrepreneur isn’t in front of their laptop most of the time. They like to be able to send money in seconds, from the palm of their hand.”