Align Commerce, the company that makes global payments simple for small businesses, today announced it has closed a $24 million Series B funding round and renamed the company to Veem. The investment, led by National Australia Bank (NAB) Ventures, includes GV (formerly Google Ventures) and SBI Investment Co., Ltd. and will help Veem expand into more countries, enable payments in additional currencies, and continue to transform the global payment process for SMBs. Melissa Widner, general partner, NAB Ventures, will also join Veem's board. Existing investors Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Silicon Valley Bank also participated in the Series B round. Rebranding to Veem supports the company's commitment to modernizing the way small businesses send and receive payments.
Veem Removes Friction of Global Payment Process for SMBs
Cross-border payments is a $25 trillion market. SMBs represent $6 trillion of that but pay $50 billion in fees due to an antiquated wire transfer system that is cumbersome to use and provides little visibility into the status of transfers. These complexities and uncertainties make the international payment experience difficult for busy small businesses. Veem's platform provides SMBs with an end-to-end payment experience that is simple, trackable and integrated into the rest of the businesses' processes. It allows even the smallest businesses to Veem payments between multiple geographies and in various currencies without worrying about where their money is.
'At Veem, we understand even 'mom and pop' businesses must embrace globalization to compete with incumbents, grow their businesses and innovate,' said Marwan Forzley, CEO and founder, Veem. 'Unfortunately, the current international payments experience is fundamentally broken, stifling SMBs' globalization efforts. Our platform creates an experience that is simple and frictionless, allowing businesses to easily Veem payments, data and invoices across the globe.'
Veem's Platform Unifies Disparate Parts of Global Payments Industry
The global payments industry is currently a patchwork system that involves multiple financial institutions and currency exchanges. Businesses struggle with this system, due to its numerous fees; limited view of payment timing, related invoice or commitment on amount delivered to either sender or receiver; and, no ownership of delivery. Additionally, delivery forms can be complex and banks may require phone calls or in-person visits to send money. By intelligently routing payments between different rails, including the increasingly popular blockchain, Veem's multi-rail technology connects the disparate parts of the international payment process. Veem's platform brings the simplicity of consumer payments to small businesses by enabling them to send and receive payments using only an email address.
'Many companies exist in a crowded international payments market today, but none have been able to distill the complexities of the space into an easy solution,' said Melissa Widner, general partner, NAB Ventures. 'Veem goes beyond the domain of foreign exchange-focused organizations and remittance companies by approaching global payments from a non-traditional point of view. This unique perspective has allowed for Veem's growth and rapid expansion into global markets, and we expect their team and technology to continue to challenge the global payments status quo.'
'Paying international suppliers/partners is complicated, particularly for small & midsize businesses,' said Karim Faris, general partner, GV. 'Veem is in a great position to simplify global payments. The team has deep experience in this space and has taken a smart technical approach to the problem. They've successfully reduced the process required to reliably move money around the world to a few steps.'
About Veem
Veem, formerly Align Commerce, is a next-generation global payments provider that enables small businesses to quickly and securely pay and get paid from their business partners all over the world. Veem is disrupting the archaic international payments industry by making cross-border payments a simple process. Veem has rebuilt a global payment network using revolutionary multi-rail technology, creating a payments experience that is simple, frictionless, and inexpensive. The platform allows small businesses to truly enter the global market. Veem has its headquarters in San Francisco and is funded by investors, including National Australia Bank, GV, SBI Investment Co., Ltd., Kleiner Perkins Caufield Byers and Silicon Valley Bank.
About NAB
For more than 150 years NAB has been helping customers with their money. With 35,000 employees, serving around 10 million customers at more than 800 locations across Australia, New Zealand and around the world, NAB aims to make a difference by being a responsible, inclusive and socially innovative bank. As Australia's largest business bank, NAB works with small, medium and large businesses to help them start, run and grow. NAB also funds some of Australia's most important infrastructure projects including schools, hospitals and roads.