BankiFi secures £2.2m in seed follow on funding led by Praetura Ventures to expand its SME services.
The Manchester-based fintech secured £2.2m in a round led by Praetura Ventures alongside the Greater Manchester Combined Authority.
BankiFi provides an open cash management platform that helps financial institutions improve digital banking services for small and medium enterprises. The company operates globally with offices across Europe, Australia, and North America.
BankiFi has secured £2.2m in a seed follow on funding round led by Praetura Ventures, with additional participation from the Greater Manchester Combined Authority. The Manchester-based fintech enterprise will direct the capital toward expanding its product range, increasing its client base, and pursuing growth in domestic and international markets.
The company develops software that enables traditional financial institutions to offer integrated invoicing, payments, and accounting services to small and medium-sized enterprises. Mark Hartley founded the business in 2017 to help financial providers better serve smaller companies grappling with protracted invoice cycles and administrative burdens.
From the founder
"SMEs and early-stage innovators are a vital pillar of our economy and will play an important role in UK's post-pandemic recovery, but many continue to be hampered by inadequate banking services. BankiFi want to change that by putting banks at the heart of businesses' day-to-day needs. Before the pandemic, invoice cycles took a month on average, meaning most businesses didn't get paid for their services or products for more than 50 days. That delay has now increased to more than 70 days, putting immense pressure on the cashflow of many SMEs."
Mark Hartley
Founder and CEO at BankiFi
Investor perspective
"The UK is Europe's established leader in FinTech, and the sector will play an important role in future of the UK economy. The global market is forecast to almost triple in size to £380bn by 2030, so there's a clear opportunity for innovative businesses like BankiFi to scale up. It's such an exciting sector that we're always looking to invest in."
David Foreman
Managing Director, Praetura Ventures
Use of funds
- 01Continue product development
- 02Expand into international markets
