A startup that uses technology to stop employees from abusing corporate speculators has just raised €8 million ($8.6 million) in capital from investors, defying a slump in investment within the financial technology industry.
Dublin-based CleverCards uses a digital platform linked to configurable expense cards to offer firms control over using their employees' corporate payment cards.
According to Global Survey 2016 During an investigation of expense reports by staffing firm Robert Half, employees claimed several improper expense claims, including for a dog day spa, taxidermy services, dance classes, a side of beef and even a welder.
While these demands are strange, they reflect the cruel reality many firms face in relation to corporate spending: sometimes they can’t trust an worker's judgment.
Kealan Lennon, CEO of CleverCards, says his platform is designed to attain exactly this goal.
Instead of giving employees corporate bank cards that they’ll use to make purchases anywhere on the earth, CleverCards allow firms to issue prepaid cards that may be configured for use only by certain employees and to dam certain transactions in the event that they are deemed inappropriate.
“Companies want to make sure the right employee gets the card and that it is only used for specific purposes,” Lennon said in an interview with CNBC.
“It's about controlling finances,” he added. “The idea of a configurable payment platform didn't exist before. And by making it digital, customers could come and say: I want to be able to do this with the push of a button.”
CleverCards exclusively told CNBC on Friday that it had raised latest funds in an investment round led by strategic investor Pluxee. The latest investment brings the overall amount CleverCards has raised thus far to over €28 million.
Pluxee is an worker voucher and advantages platform that emerged from the French hospitality company Sodexo earlier this yr.
The company is listed on the French stock exchange Euronext and is valued at 4 billion euros.
Acquisition of Adyen and Stripe business
Founded in 2019, CleverCards has over 10,000 businesses as customers. Its clients include eBay, PaddyPower, Betfair, Accenture, Microsoft and Apple.
In addition to those firms, CleverCard also works with public sector organizations.
In 2022, CleverCards partnered with the UK government to enable welfare payments to individuals with smart meters who normally pay their bills by direct debit but were forced to hunt additional financial help on account of rising fuel prices. The cards could only be used to pay bills on the web sites of chosen utility firms.
According to Lennon, CleverCards uses artificial intelligence to confirm the identity of recipients and thus prevent fraud.
Lennon said CleverCards' funding round stood out in a brutal marketplace for deal making and fundraising within the fintech space.
“It's a difficult environment,” he said. “In the current congested market, to raise money now is pretty impressive because nobody is raising capital.”
He said CleverCards is increasingly stealing business from payments technology giants Adyen and Stripe.
“It was remarkable that as a smaller company we paid attention to Stripes and Adyens and prevailed,” he said, adding that we have now now “won business against them.”
CleverCards will use the fresh funds to expand its business, scale its products and explore further opportunities, it said.
In addition to the fundraising, CleverCards appointed five latest non-executive directors with experience in payments technology to its board.
These include industry veterans Patrick Waldron, Donal Daly, Marc Frappier, Garry Lyons and Viktoria Otero del Val.
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