(19 February 2019 – Australia) The expansion of GoCardless into the Australian market is well underway after the fintech raised $106 million to roll out a global direct debit payment collect system to business clients.
GoCardless offers small and large businesses a way to collect direct debit payments across international borders, at a lower cost than using the global credit card schemes.
It launched the service in Australia late last year, and director of international expansion Pranav Sood said the local banking sector was an important market for the firm, amid strong growth in recurring payments from consumers to businesses, such as to gyms, media companies, telecommunications firms, or utilities.
Australia was also attractive because of its buoyant fintech scene, last year's launch of fast payments through the new payments platform, and the rise of “open banking” – a system allowing customers to share their financial data.
“There’s kind of like a cocktail of ingredients that make Australia a really interesting place for particularly fintech businesses,” Mr Sood said.