Today in B2B: B2B buyers want simpler payments

In B2B payments, HitPay today raises $15.8 million for its Singapore payment gateway, while Bonfire Ventures raises $231 million to support B2B software startups. Also, Capital One is launching a B2B enterprise software company, Debite is launching its BNPL service for small businesses in the UK and Planergy’s spend management platform is now available for Amazon merchants.

Bonfire Ventures raises $231 million for B2B software startups

Bonfire Ventures, which helps B2B software companies raise money in their seed phase, has closed a $168 million seed round and $63 million second round, bringing total fundraising since 2017 totals more than $1 billion, according to a company press release Tuesday (May 31).

Bonfire offers B2B software founders a curated, hands-on partnership as they progress through their investment journey, starting at the seed stage, through to the Series A level and progressing with product launches, development and other aspects of their business.

FinTech Cardlay announces integration with Concur Expense

Danish B2B FinTech Cardlay has integrated its payment cloud solution with Concur Expense, the company announced on Wednesday (June 1). According to Cardlay, the solution enables companies using the SAP Concur portfolio to “benefit from an integrated, carbon-neutral and secure virtual card offering without changing their current banking relationship”.

According to Cardlay, Payment Cloud supports real-time virtual card issuance, providing businesses with a fast, sustainable and secure way to pay for what they need. The company said the integration builds on advanced APIs at the core of existing banking infrastructure, allowing for a plug-and-play setup for customers to choose their preferred financial institution.

Capital One launches B2B software business

Capital One Financial Corp. has launched Capital One Software, a B2B enterprise software company that will provide cloud and data management solutions for B2B companies operating in the cloud, according to a press release.

The first product of the new initiative is Capital One Slingshot, a data management solution for customers of Snowflake, the data cloud company designed to help organizations accelerate Snowflake Data Cloud adoption, manage cloud costs and automate processes. Capital One has been using its own cloud and data management tools for years, the company says.

Slingshot helps businesses manage costs with intelligent cost savings recommendations and warehouse performance monitoring dashboards; Gain insight and insight into changes in Snowflake costs and usage through proactive alerts; federate warehouse management with business units and scale without exorbitant new costs; and automate governance with custom workflows, dynamic warehouse provisioning, and version-based self-service capabilities.

Corporate buyers are increasingly expecting “Uber-like” payment simplicity

Shoppers have seen how consumer-merchant interactions have been streamlined in business-to-consumer (B2C) e-commerce, and they now want the same customer experience in B2B.

It’s a seismic change reshaping B2B e-commerce, and a challenge as payments in this space are far more complex than on the consumer side — and involve additional steps related to underwriting, back-end reconciliation, and billing.

A second shift is that B2B eCommerce is going global. Buyers from other countries are also looking for a seamless payment experience. Additionally, sellers who want to increase their margins want to get closer to their buyers and they do this by developing marketplaces and creating e-commerce websites to sell directly to the end consumer.

Amazon Business merchants can access Planergy’s spend management platform

Planergy, the accounts payable company that controls expenses, and Amazon Business have partnered to place orders through Amazon Business’ online store, the companies announced.

The companies said the agreement will allow companies to make purchases from Amazon Business through Planergy’s approval system. Once an order is authorized, Planergy generates an order that is linked to the Amazon order. The rest of the order fulfillment process includes steps that generate various verification documents.

Singapore’s SME payment gateway HitPay reports net profits of US$15.8 million

HitPay, a Singapore-based payments platform for small and medium-sized businesses, announced Tuesday (May 31) that it has raised $15.7 million in a Series A funding round, which it is using to further build out its payments infrastructure platform including support for local and international payment methods and integrations with accounting and e-commerce platforms.

According to HitPay, more than 10,000 merchants use its platform, which offers local and cross-border payment acceptance and payouts, an online store platform, point-of-sale software with card readers, plugins and payment links.

The Company’s services are also available in Malaysia, Hong Kong, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, USA, UK, Europe and UAE. The company said it would expand into new markets in Southeast Asia in the coming months.

UK based Debite launches BNPL service for early stage companies

London-based financing platform Debite announced its launch in the UK on Monday (May 30) and said it wants to help early-stage companies through its buy-now-pay-latered tool.

Debite said its platform is designed for early-stage businesses that are underserved by traditional lenders and can offer spending limits that are higher than credit and loan products typically available to this customer segment.

The company is launching with two primary products: Spend & Save Loans, which provide businesses with instant cash to manage the costs of critical growth initiatives, and the Boosted Debit Card, which offers dynamic credit limits typically 20 times higher than traditional lenders 0% interest if paid within 30 days.