Melio, Capital One Team On AP Management Tools

Small business B2B payments company Melio will work alongside Capital One to give more access for accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR) cash flow management tools, a press release emailed to PYMNTS on Tuesday (June 15) said.

In addition, Capital One Ventures, the corporate venture arm of the company, has joined Melio’s Series C funding round with a strategic investment.

Melio’s platform works by letting credit cards be accepted anywhere, including by vendors around the country who like to pay or get paid by different means, including direct bank or wire transfers or paper checks.

“We’re thrilled to be building the foundation of a strategic partnership with Capital One, one of the leading banks in the U.S. focused on small businesses, by equipping a segment of Capital One Business card holders with what they need most right now: increased access to cash flow management tools and payments that are accepted everywhere,” said Matan Bar, Melio’s co-founder and CEO.

Aman Sharma, Partner, Capital One Ventures, said the company “understands the importance of helping small businesses maintain access to the full range of digital solutions required to meet their day-to-day needs.”

“From the outset, we were impressed with Melio’s ability to execute a strategy aligned with its mission to Keep Small Business in Business. Matan and his team recognize that cash flow is the driving force for small businesses and that B2B payment capabilities should be built with simplicity and ease of use as the core principles,” Sharma said, according to the release.

Bar told PYMNTS recently that the key to helping smaller businesses, particularly during something like the pandemic, was to add more payments flexibility.

There’s a sense of urgency in that the back office for many small businesses has usually been a practice rooted in older, more manual paper processes. While small to medium-sized businesses have grown to use choices for how to pay, many are still using paper methods to pay suppliers. Melio has looked to give a Venmo-esque experience for AP management.