Australian business-to-business (B2B) payments company Cirralto Limited announced on Monday (Feb. 22) that it garnered “firm commitments” to raise A$18 million (approximately $14.3 million), according to an announcement.
The company says it plans to use the infusion for an expedited commercialization roadmap for its products, possible synergistic purchases, commercialization of experimental corporate payments offerings and working capital requirements for the road ahead. Its fundraising comes on the heels of a placement in August 2020 to recapitalize the firm and another in November 2020 to help with the firm’s expansion with different payments providers.
“After the transformative year in 2020 with the significant restructuring of the Company’s balance sheet, we are now in a financially strong position with the added firepower to focus on aggressive growth and accretive acquisitions that deliver shareholder value,” Cirralto CEO and Managing Director Adrian Floate said in the announcement.
Cirralto Limited describes itself as a transaction services company that provides sectors with an array of B2B payment services, online trading software and integrated offerings.
As previously reported, 2020 was a landmark year for B2B payments digitization and innovation, but much friction still exists in how corporate purchasers pay their vendors.
Businesses want to postpone payment as long as possible to better control cash flow, while vendors are pressed to speed up accounts receivable to bolster their own cash positions. During the pandemic, with cash crunches becoming more acute, this conflict has only proliferated across the supply chain.
Many B2B payment offerings have bolstered their efforts to contend with this friction. Offerings such as commercial and virtual card products, for example, assure purchasers the ability to lengthen capital float while speeding up payment to suppliers.
However, many other ways beyond the payment mechanism itself can remedy this conflict between corporate purchasers and suppliers. Speaking with PYMNTS in late December, Floate explored some of the emerging payment models that can possibly fight the pain of late payments and bolster cash flow on both sides of a B2B transaction.