Melio, a leading B2B payments platform for small businesses, today announced it has raised an additional $250 million, tripling the company's valuation to $4 billion since January 2021.
The capital raised will accelerate the company's expansion through partnerships with leading financial institutions, software providers, and marketplaces interested in enabling B2B payments for their customers.
The Series D round, which comes as the company grew its monthly processing volumes by 5,000% over the last 18 months, was co-led by new investor Thrive Capital of New York, along with existing investor General Catalyst. U.S. investment firm Tiger Global Management also invested in the round, along with existing investors Accel, Bessemer, Coatue, Corner Ventures, and Latitude.
"2021 has been a year of rapid growth for Melio. We found ourselves in a fortunate position to support small businesses more than ever before, helping them digitize their vendor payment operations, saving them valuable time, and maximizing their cash flow," said Melio CEO and co-founder Matan Bar.
Melio provides a single, integrated solution that allows small businesses to quickly and seamlessly transfer and receive payments - helping with cash flow needs, reducing or eliminating late payment costs, and giving businesses back valuable time. A survey carried out by Melio found that 31% of small business owners said embracing new technologies helped their business during COVID-19.
Melio also announced that General Catalyst Chairman and Managing Director Ken Chenault, the former chairman and CEO of American Express, will join Melio's board as an observer.
"Melio is leveling the playing field for small businesses, empowering them with solutions focused on cash flow and workflow issues, which are critical for small business owners," said Chenault. "Since our initial investment in Melio, I've worked closely with Matan. I've been very impressed with his leadership and with what he and the team have accomplished. Most importantly, I am very excited about the opportunity that lies ahead of them as one of the fastest growing companies in the small business payments space."
"Melio has been a critical partner for small businesses as they navigated the financial constraints of the pandemic-induced economic downturn," said Vince Hankes, Investor at Thrive Capital. "For many, the ability to implement and adopt these digital payment solutions has been the key to keeping their doors open - proving that digital payment platforms are critical to small business growth."
Melio, which raised $110 million in its last funding round in January, is growing rapidly. Its strategy includes integrating with some of the nation's leading financial service and software as a service (SaaS) companies to enable accounts payable and receivable capabilities for their customers by embedding Melio's technology into their products.
In June, the company partnered with Capital One to increase access to accounts payable and receivable cash flow management tools for small business customers.
In 2020, Melio partnered with Intuit's QuickBooks, the leading accounting software for small businesses. It offers Bill Pay powered by Melio, a free, integrated accounts payable solution that allows QuickBooks users to easily pay business bills in the office or on the go.
Investors from previous rounds include Accel, Aleph, Bessemer, Capital One, Coatue, Corner Ventures, General Catalyst, and Latitude. American Express Ventures, Intuit, and Salesforce are also strategic investors, solidifying these companies' interests in the small business economy.