Australian fintech startup Zeller hits unicorn status after raising $72.8M in fresh funding

Aussie payments startup Zeller announced today it has reached a valuation north of A$1 billion dollars following a $72.8 million (A$100M) Series B fundraising round. This raise makes them the fastest Aussie fintech to reach a $1B valuation also making Zeller a member of the global unicorn startups.

The round was led by US-based VC, Headline, with additional funds were contributed by the Australian industry superannuation fund Hostplus. Zeller will use the funding proceeds to accelerate the development of its new product range to further reimagine and replace traditional payments and business banking services.

Founded in 2020 by Ben Pfisterer and Dominic Yap, Zeller enables business owners to accept payments, manage their finances, and pay recipients fast. Finding integrated financial solutions to help the business thrive often requires weaving together multiple products from different providers.

While a small group of large enterprises enjoys the privilege of financial solutions tailored for their specific needs, the vast majority of Australian businesses are underserved due to a lack of innovation, disparate providers, opaque pricing, and restrictive contracts.

Zeller combines the tools for the business needs to accelerate cash flow. From accepting payments to managing finances to paying recipients fast; by bringing every tool together into one connected ecosystem, Zeller helps reduce the time spent on finding providers, completing long applications, onboarding, and getting set up.

This includes the deployment of new services for businesses including online payment acceptance, next-generation banking capabilities, enhanced credit and debit cards, expense management, lending, and more.

Since its inception two years ago, Zeller has raised over $181M from a collection of prominent Australian and US inventors, including Square Peg and Apex Capital Partners, Spark Capital, Addition (founded by Lee Fixel), and now with new investment from Headline and Hostplus.

Zeller CEO Ben Pfisterer