PayPal Ventures Invests $11.9M In Payments Services Firm Modulr

Modulr, a Payments-as-a-Service application programming interface (API) platform, has received an investment of 9 million pounds ($11.9 million) from PayPal Ventures in order to boost its services and develop new products, according to a press release.

Modulr helps digital businesses in fields like lending, banking, travel, FinTech, employment services and accounting to build new payment products for customers, the release stated.

The company’s Payments-as-a-Service API handles “much of the complexities and regulatory overhead” and lets customers focus on their own unique aspects of their products, according to the release.

Chief financial officers are looking for a trifecta of speed, convenience and security in new digital payment ventures, PYMNTS reported, with the key often being partnerships with trustworthy companies that won’t lead to missed payments.

Modulr is looking to serve primarily small- to medium-sized businesses (SMBs) in the massive shift toward digital payments that has come about in 2020 due to the pandemic. The release called 2020 a “breakout year” for the company and noted that its total fundraising was 63.3 million pounds ($83.9 million) and included other contributions from companies like Highland Europe, Frog Capital and Blenheim Chalcot, and a grant for 10 million pounds ($13.3 million) from the Capability and Innovation Fund.

Anil Hansjee, partner at PayPal Ventures, said Modulr’s services would help digital businesses without the expertise or resources to implement payments systems.

“Modulr is well-positioned to be an enabler of this trend and will undoubtably expand end-users’ access to fast, reliable and secure financial services,” Hansjee said, according to the release. “We look forward to working with Modulr as it helps to power the next generation of digital businesses.”

Myles Stephenson, CEO of Modulr, said the PayPal investment is “an important milestone” for the company’s goals.

“Modulr lowers the barriers to bringing payments into a platform, creating endless new possibilities for our customers while allowing them to focus on their core competencies,” he said, according to the release. “The investment from PayPal Ventures enhances our ability to execute on that vision.”