Xero Introduces New US CEO and New Bill Pay Offering

Xero says U.S. small businesses can now manage and pay bills directly through its platform.

The new offering stems from Xero’s purchase of Melio last year and integration of its bill payments technology into its platform, the company said in a Monday (March 23) new release.

It also makes Xero the only major U.S. small business accounting platform that lets users pay bills by credit card on-platform, the release added.

Also Monday, the company announced it had chosen Matan Bar, co-founder and chief executive of Melio, as its new U.S. CEO. He will now oversee both Xero U.S. and Melio.

“The US payments landscape is uniquely complex but vital for small businesses,” said Bar. “Xero and Melio together replace slow, manual processes with a modern, scalable tech stack. By embedding flexible, self-serve workflows, we remove payment friction and streamline operations, saving business owners and their advisors time and optimizing cash flow to fuel confident growth.”

Xero, based in New Zealand, acquired Melio last year for $2.5 billion, giving customers access to Melio’s small and medium-sized business (SMB) bill pay platform, which is designed to link accounting and payments.

“Xero and Melio are highly complementary — together they complete the key jobs to be done for U.S. SMBs, extend reach across customer segments, provide both direct and syndicated offerings, and deliver multiple revenue drivers,” said Xero CEO Sukhinder Singh Cassidy.

PYMNTS wrote last month that payment timing for small business centers around a simple equation: cash arriving sooner means greater operational flexibility.

“Businesses that replicate the simplicity of consumer transactions—digital wallets, embedded payment links, automated payment data, or flexible payment methods—reduce cognitive load for buyers,” the report said. “That convenience translates directly into faster settlement. A payment experience that feels outdated can stand out in a world where nearly every other financial interaction has been streamlined.”

A rising number of SMBs, the report added, now view payment workflows the same way they do customer journeys: as an experience designed to be optimized.

Companies are increasingly understanding that payment design has gone from being an administrative detail to a “strategic lever for financial stability,” PYMNTS continued. While the difference between a 15-day payment cycle and a 30-day one may not seem dramatic on paper, it compounds over time.

“As a result, more SMB leaders are scrutinizing—and upgrading—the systems that shape how quickly money actually lands in their accounts,” PYMNTS added.

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