UK PayTech startup Atoa bags $6.5m to challenge Visa and Mastercard ‘high street dominance’
UK payments startup Atoa has concluded a seed funding round of $6.5 million.
The company says the it offers small- to medium-sized retail businesses on the UK high street “a faster, cheaper and more secure alternative to accepting Visa and Mastercard card payments, using account-to-account payments”.
The round of funding was led by Valar Ventures, a US fund backed by the co-founder of PayPal, Peter Thiel.
Previous investors, including Monzo and Tide backer Passion Capital, and Singapore based Leo Capital also participated.
This takes the total raised by Atoa to $8.6 million.
It allows consumers to pay in-store using an instant bank transfer. Shoppers do not need to download a new mobile application and can approve the payment via their existing banking app.
Dora Maries, who owns Holimed Beauty, a beauty business in London, says: "For a small business like mine, Atoa is a game changer.”
“We've been using it for nearly a year now. It's so nice to see that there are still systems on the market that do not rip you off with high transaction fees. With low fees, immediate payment and settlement, and amazing customer service, Atoa is literally everything my business needs."
Businesses can download the Atoa app, connect their merchant bank account and begin to take payments after a five-minute set-up process.
They can accept payments via SMS, Pay-by Link or by displaying a QR code on the app or physical QR stand next to their till.
In-store payments can be processed by the merchant QR code, selecting which account they would like to pay from and approving the amount.
Robert Dighero of Passion Capital says: “For businesses on the high street, every penny counts. Businesses need fairer solutions that improve cash flow and keep prices down for their customers.”
“Open Banking payments with Atoa could make a significant impact to their bottom line.”
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