Press Release Sample

VelocityPay Announces Plans For Further Expansion After Raising $32 Million In Series B Funding 

Fintech startup processing $2.1B annually partners with Visa to bring instant international payment to small businesses worldwide.

SAN FRANCISCO,CA - January 15,2025: VelocityPay,the cross-border payment platform designed for both small and medium sized businesses,today announced $32 million in Series B funding led by Accel Partners and participation from existing investors Kleiner Perkins and Y Combinator. This latest round of funding will enable VelocityPay to expand it's operations to 47 more countries and accelerate product development following it's explosive growth back in 2024.

By enabling businesses to recieve funds from international clients within hours,VelocityPay platform has eliminated the traditional 3-7 day wait for international payment to be fully processed.Since launching in March 2022,, VelocityPay has processed a total of $2.1 billion in transactions for 12,000 businesses spread across 23 countries.

Problems Being Solved By VelocityPay 

While traditional wire transfers takes an average of 3-7 days to settle,an average of 3-5% charges are imposed on each transactther – thereby forcing small businesses who engage in international trade to face limited cash supplies. This delay further strains working capital which leads to businesses hoarding huge cash reserves.

“We spoke with hundreds of small business owners and they all told us the same story,” said Elena Rodriguez,co-founder and CEO of VelocityPay.”They'd ship products out very early enough but wait for several weeks for payments to be sent. Meanwhile,their inability to pay suppliers or cover payroll delayed alot of them who had plans to further expand their businesses.

This problem is also being experienced by businesses in developing countries where banking infrastructure is less or more modernised.

How VelocityPay Works 

VelocityPay's platform bypasses slow correspondent banking networks by leveraging strategic partnerships with several local payment rails in each country.When a customer in Germany pays a supplier in Thailand,VelocityPay's system;

1:Detects and recieves the funds via German domestic payment network

2:Converts currency at wholesale exchange rates 

3:And delivers the payment to the Thai supplier via Thailand's PromptPay system.

“Reasons why traditional banks add charges is due to how international payments are being routed across several intermediary banks,” explained Rodriguez.”We route payments through already stationed domestic networks which are spread across all our operating countries.”

VelocityPay's foreign exchange rates stands at 0.8% which well above mid-market rates and significantly lower than traditional banks 3-5% spreads.

VelocityPay's transaction volume grew by 340% within the first quarter of 2024.Now,the company processes an average of $175 million monthly.

Key growth metrics:

•Transaction volume:$2.1 billion (2024)

•Number of clients served grew from 3,400 to 12,000 businesses.

•Now operating in over 23 countries 

•Average transaction volume: $8,700

•Customer retention rate: 94%

The company attributes it's growth mostly from word-of-mouth referrals.”We've spent virtually no dime on marketing,” Rodriguez noted.”Our loyal customers always refer us to other businesses because of our instant payments – and that has been our entire go-to-market strategy.”

Strategic Partnership With Visa 

During the funding announcement,VelocityPay also mentioned that it has secured a strategic partnership with Visa because of it's plans to expand instant payment methods across the globe.

“Visa processes payments across 200 countries but settlements still takes days,” said Rodriguez.”Our partnership fuses Visa global reach with VelocityPay's instant payment platform.”

The partnership enables VelocityPay to accelerate it's expansion by tapping into Visa's huge banking network.The platform plans to launch in 47 new countries starting from next year,including major markets like Brazil,Mexico,India and Indonesia.

“VelocityPay is solving a real pain point that is being experienced daily by millions of small businesses,” said Sarah Chen,Investor at Accel Partners and newly installed member of VelocityPay board.”Cross-border payments have been broken for decades and now,Elena's and her team are now finally fixing it.”

Customer Feedback 

Artisan & Co,a fair-trade handicraft importer based in Portland,Oregon,sources it's products from 40 artisan co-operatives across Southeast Asia.Before the VelocityPay was introduced, the company had to wait for 5-7 days before payments reached suppliers.

“We'd tell suppliers ‘payment is coming’ but they'd wait for weeks,” said Michael Torres,Artisan & Co's founder.”With VelocityPay,suppliers recieve payments within hours. It's completely changed our business relationships and made our suppliers trust us more than ever.”

For suppliers,instant payment enables proper financial planning and reduces reliance on short-term credit.

Somporn Textile Manufacturing in Thailand works with over 15 U.S.& European fashion brands.CEO Somporn Patel says VelocityPay has helped saved $40,000 worth of working capital costs.

“Before,we'd take bridge loans to cover payroll while waiting for international payments,”Patel explained.”Now the loans aren't needed anymore because money arrives instantly.”

Series B Funding Aims & Objectives 

The $32 million raised will be deployed across four main strategic areas;

Geographical expansion ($15 million): Launching in 47 new countries in 2026 with keen interest in high trade volume corridors like U.S. -Latin America and Europe-Southeast Asia.

Product Development ($8 million): Integration of additional features like;

•Multi currency business accounts 

•Payable and Receivable automated accounts

•Integration of major e-commerce platforms (Shopify,WooCommerce,Magento)

•API developer for custom integration

Team Growth:Addition of more employees especially in key areas like engineering,compliance and customer support.

Regulatory License:Obtaining both payment licenses and money transmitter authorisations in new markets.

“International payments involves alot of complex regulations that's why we're investing heavily in compliance infrastructure to ensure we're fully licensed in every market we're based in,” Rodriguez acknowledged.

The Race To Fix The Broken Cross-Border Payment System 

VelocityPay operates in an increasingly competitive space.Stripe,PayPal and other traditional banks all offer international payment services.Even newer entrants like Wise (formerly TransferWise) and Revolut target similar pain points.

Rodriguez argues that VelocityPay focus on B2B payments and instant payments is what differentiates it from other consumer-focused competitors.

“Stripe and Wise are both great when it comes to consumer payments,” Rodriguez said.”Ours was built specifically for business-to-business transactions.Our customers are manufacturers,importers,wholesalers and business owners.Their needs differ alot from ordinary consumers.”

The global cross-border B2B payment market is projected to reach $39 trillion by 2039 according to a McKinsey & Company report. VelocityPay currently holds 0.005% of this market and is projected to grow much further over the next five years.

About VelocityPay 

Founded in 2022 by Elena Rodriguez (former product lead at Revolut) and James Park (ex-Visa director),VelocityPay provides instant cross-border payment infrastructure for small and medium sized businesses.The company is headquartered in San Francisco with branches across London,Milan and Beijing. VelocityPay has raised up to $50 million with participation from Accel Partners,Kleiner Perkins,Y Combinator and other angel investors.

Media Contact:

Jessica Martinez 

Director of Communication,VelocityPay 

press@velocitypay.com

(415) 555-0123 

Investor Contact:

Elena Rodriguez 

CEO,VelocityPay 

Investors@velocitypay.com

Editor's Note: High-resolution images,CEO headshots and product screenshot available at velocitypay.com/press