Small Businesses In Focus For B2B FinTechs (And Their Investors)

With more than $93.7 million in new funding, B2B FinTechs this week are finding support from investors embracing startups’ focus on small- to medium-sized business (SMB) finances, from banking to payments.

Investment rounds poured in across Asia, North America and Europe, with a Chinese “corporate wallet” securing the largest investment of the week. Below, PYMNTS rounds up the latest B2B FinTech venture capital funding rounds.

MoolahGo

Singapore’s multi-currency payments startup MoolahGo revealed this week it secured an undisclosed investment from The Lippo Group as part of its Pre-Series A round, according to a company announcement. The company, which initially focused on B2C and P2P payments but has since expanded into the B2B cross-border payments landscape, said the investment reflects heightened opportunities for FinTech across Southeast Asia, and said it would deploy the investment to introduce new payment services to market, like mobile payments, as well as to launch in new geographic markets in the region.

Checkfront

In Canada, Checkfront revealed its $9.3 million Series A investment led by Framework Venture Partners, while PenderFund Capital Management, Conconi Growth Partners and Royal Bank of Canada also participated. Private Capital Journal reported that the company, which connects travel experience companies — like tours and activities — to its B2B software-as-a-service (SaaS) booking management solution, will deploy the investment to focus on product development, talent acquisition, sales and marketing and strategic partnerships. The company enables travel providers to not only manage their booking, but it adds an array of back-office services, like inventory management and accounting integrations.

FinCompare

In doubling its Series A funding round, Germany’s FinCompare secured an additional $13.4 million in funding from ING Ventures, Speedinvest, Uniqa Ventures and several private investors, an announcement revealed. FinCompare enables SMBs to access a single portal upon which they can compare financing options across more than 250 banks, with the option of comparing credit, leasing, factoring and purchase financing offerings. The company’s platform also connects with more than 1,000 financial advisors that use the portal for brokerage operations, reports said. Reports said FinCompare will use the cash to further build out its matching technology, predictive scoring, and customer relationship management system, and to invest in its software engineer team.

Alma

France’s Alma is not a B2B payments company, but it soon will be. The firm raised about $14 million from Idinvest and ISAI for its point-of-sale financing technology that allows an eCommerce or brick-and-mortar merchant to get paid in full upon making a sale, while enabling a buyer to pay their balance over time. According to reports in Tech.eu, the company said it is planning to eventually launch B2B payment installation capabilities.

NorthOne

The U.S. is not known for its challenger banking community, but one rare player in the market, NorthOne, recently secured $21 million in new funding for its banking solutions geared toward (SMBs) and freelancers. The Series A was led by Battery Ventures, while Redpoint Ventures and Tom Williams also participated. NorthOne offers users cash and check deposits via ATM, supplier payment, expense software integration, accounting and eCommerce solutions. With the new funding, NorthOne said it would focus on marketing, customer acquisition, and product and engineering talent acquisition.

Fenbeitong

Dubbed a “corporate wallet,” China’s Fenbeitong offers business customers an expense management suite of solutions, including physical and virtual cards, spend controls and analytics tools. The company announced a $36 million Series B+ funding round from Eight Roads, Ribbit Capital, Glade Brooke Capital, BitRock Capital and existing investors IDG Capital, CreditEase Industry Fund and China Growth Capital, reports in China Money Network said this week. With the new funding, Fenbeitong said it plans to augment its existing offering and to invest in research and development, while also focusing on deeper integrations in corporates’ back offices.