Australian payments fintech Zeller has unveiled its “all-in-one” digital financial solution built for start-up founders.
The new service, christened ‘Zeller for Startups’ and set to launch in “coming weeks”, boasts a suite of tools for managing early-stage businesses, combining, the paytech says, “all the financial products tech founders need to start, scale and grow, that the banks have failed to deliver”.
Among its feature set include expense management tools (offering real-time visibility over employee, team, or project spending), unlimited digital and physical debit cards supplied through Mastercard, fee-free transaction accounts, and high-interest savings (currently 3.2 per cent p.a.) accounts, with access to all features via a single online account, “removing the need for multiple providers, subscriptions, or expensive add-ons”.
This, Zeller says, enables founders to launch and scale without the constraints of traditional banks and disconnected platforms.
As well, users are promised an expedited digital onboarding process, enabling business accounts to be opened with “60 per cent fewer clicks” compared to traditional banks, the company boasts.
Zeller said the service is being launched in response to what it sees as a dearth of start-up-friendly financial services available to Australian entrepreneurs.
“For decades, Australian start-ups have been forced to navigate a banking system never built for them — slow and arduous account setup involving physical paperwork, limited access to financing, and fragmented account reporting that don’t deliver a unified view of their overall financial position.”
An industry survey conducted by the fintech noted the challenges that many founders face in managing their start-ups, with 87 per cent citing financial management and banking as their biggest operational challenge — second only to fundraising (94 per cent).
It also found that start-up founders have historically relied upon five disconnected platforms, on top of a business bank, to manage their finances.
“Everything about how companies operate has changed, but the banks have not. For decades Aussie founders have been forced into a banking system that simply wasn’t built for them; slow account onboarding, outdated risk assessments, and financial products that deliver limited oversight,” said Ben Pfisterer, chief executive and co-founder of Zeller.
“The reality is, banks have become a roadblock for founders because they can’t deliver what start-ups need to manage the finances, spending and expenses in one place.
“That’s exactly why we built Zeller for Startups — to give tech founders a first-of-its-kind solution combining the financial products they need to launch confidently, scale smarter, and reach their full potential”
Founded in Melbourne in early 2020, Zeller touts itself as a business banking sector disruptor, with its existing product line-up consisting of payments (EFTPOS) terminals, Tap to Pay services, invoicing options, and a variety of corporate card and business accounts.
