Numeral, a high-potential young FinTech

Numeral is a new French fintech, which aims to simplify payments for small businesses. It proposes APIs that will simplify the integration of payments by transfers and direct debits. This promising young FinTech, which is tackling a crucial issue for its customers, has just raised funds from renowned investors, which is attracting a lot of attention.

FACTS

• Numeral has just announced a €13 million fundraising round led by Balderton Capital and completed by leading investors including Alexandre Prot (Qonto), Tom Blomfield (Monzo), Guillaume Princen (Stripe) and Kima Ventures.

• The French FinTech is thus consolidating a model developed six months ago within the startup studio Logic Founders (itself a product of the Parisian startup incubator eFounders).

• Its ambition: To deploy a successful SaaS payment automation platform for technology companies and thus facilitate the management of their payments (payment routing and account balancing).

• Its target: Insurance companies (to settle claims), temporary employment agencies (to pay their workers) or BNPL companies for example. More generally, all professionals who need to send, receive and reconcile large volumes of payments with their banks.

• Business model: a monthly subscription and a system of degressive commission on transactions.

• For the moment, Numeral is aimed more specifically at technology companies working with APIs. Its clients already include well-known companies such as two unicorns in France: Swile and Spendesk. This is a sign of confidence that the company can now promote its offer more widely.

CHALLENGES

• Rely on open banking to simplify payments: Banks have multiple interfaces for making transfers and direct debits. Numeral proposes APIs that allow for the standardisation of these protocols, which are different between banks and even specific within the same bank, depending on the operations one wishes to carry out. This standardisation will facilitate the integration of payment processes.

• Modelling a developing offer for private individuals: The American payment specialist Stripe has managed to establish itself over the years as a reference for payment between private individuals or, more recently, for collection. This is the model that Numeral is now following. However, the FinTech is different in that it targets the BtoB market.

• Sticking to the needs of companies: While Stripe has become a reference in online payment by bank card, Numeral hopes to have the same destiny but in direct debit and transfer, the preferred means of payment between companies.

MARKET PERSPECTIVE

• The fundraising announced by Numeral will enable it to start 2022 by officially launching its platform and processing its first payment flows. The FinTech also plans to rapidly offer new payment automation and management features.

• Numeral also says that it should quickly add new banks to its platform to complete its centralised model; the FinTech currently has three French banking partners.

• This development plan will be based on the recruitment of French and European profiles; Numeral's team will thus increase from 10 to 40 employees in the near future.

• Numeral hopes to eventually convince new clients on a European scale, particularly in the UK, Germany, Italy and Spain.