A startup that uses technology to stop employees from misusing company funds has raised 8 million euros ($8.6 million) from investors despite a slowdown in investment in the financial technology industry.
Dublin-based company CleverCards gives businesses control over how employees use corporate payment cards, using a digital platform linked to configurable expense cards.
be 2016 World Survey At the group’s chief financial officer at human resources firm Robert Half, employees requested multiple inappropriate expense reports, including for a dog day spa, taxidermy services, dance classes, beef sides and even a welder.
As odd as these requests are, they reflect a harsh reality for many businesses when it comes to expenses: Sometimes you can’t trust your employees’ judgment.
CleverCards CEO Kealan Lennon says his company’s platform aims to address exactly that problem.
Rather than giving employees a corporate credit card that can be used to make purchases anywhere in the world, CleverCards allows companies to distribute prepaid cards that can be set up for use only by specific employees and block certain transactions that are deemed inappropriate.
“Companies want to ensure that the right employees receive the cards and that the cards are only used for specific purposes,” Lennon said in an interview with CNBC.
“It’s financial management,” he added. “The idea of a configurable payments platform is something that hasn’t existed before. And by digitizing it, customers can now say, ‘I want to be able to do this at the touch of a button.'”
CleverCards has raised new funding in a round led by strategic investor Pluxee, the company told CNBC exclusively on Friday. The new investment brings the total funding CleverCards has raised to date to more than 28 million euros.
Pluxee is an employee voucher and benefits platform that was spun off from French food catering company Sodexo earlier this year.
The company is listed on France’s Euronext stock exchange and is valued at €4 billion.
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Founded in 2019, CleverCards has over 10,000 registered businesses, including eBay, PaddyPower, Betfair, Accenture, Microsoft and Apple.
Besides these companies, CleverCard also works with public sector organisations.
In 2022, CleverCard partnered with the UK government to help pay social welfare benefits to smart meter customers who normally pay their bills by direct debit but have been forced to seek additional financial support due to rising fuel prices. The card can only be used to pay bills on certain utility company websites.
Lennon said CleverCard uses artificial intelligence to run identity checks on recipients to help prevent fraud.
Lennon said CleverCard’s funding round stands out in a tough market for fintech deals and fundraising.
“It’s a tough environment,” he said. “No one is raising capital in the current market downturn, so to raise capital is pretty impressive.”
He said CleverCards was taking business from payments technology giants Adyen and Stripe.
“It’s notable that as a smaller company, they looked at Stripes and Adience and came out strong,” he said, adding, “and now they’re going up against them and winning their business.”
CleverCard says it will use the new funding to grow its business, expand its product footprint, and explore broader business opportunities.
In addition to the funding, CleverCards appointed five new independent directors with payment technology experience to its board of directors.
These include industry veterans Patrick Waldron, Donal Daly, Mark Frappier, Garry Lyons and Victoria Otero del Val.