UK Startup Apron Raises $15 Million In A Series A Funding Round

Apron, a startup company based in London, has secured $15 million in a Series A funding round. Index Ventures led the funding round, while the other participating investors include Bessemer Venture Partners and Visionaries Club.

Apron is a startup firm seeking to assist small companies with processing invoices. The company targets small businesses that lack a dedicated finance division, and lack tools to process invoices, and the recent funding round will expand its offerings.

Apron Raises $15M In A Series A Funding Round

Apron’s clientele base involves small businesses that usually depend on email threads and their online banking portal to process invoices. The firm’s software-as-a-service is the central repository for all invoices.

Clients can create rules and workflows so the CEO can review large invoices before making payment. Apron’s services across the UK are gaining popularity because of the country’s open banking systems.

Small businesses can approve payments on Apron, making payments directly to bank accounts. Apron supports 30 currencies on its platform while charging a 0.5% conversion fee. The platform can also be used to pay employees at a single go.

Apron has integrated with QuickBooks and Xero. It allows users to reconcile their payments with invoices, making it easy to see whether they have already paid for something or whether more payments need to be made.

Transforming The Payments System

The founder of Apron, Bogdan Uzbekov, opined that Apron’s mission was to transform the payments system by offering speed and security.

“Apron puts itself in the position of all these users – accountants, business owners, and suppliers – and instead of trying to solve business payments from just one perspective, we create a town square where they can all come together to move money as smoothly as possible,” Uzbekov said.

Uzbekov has experience in the payments industry, having formerly worked at Revolut. Revolut is one of the largest fintech companies in the UK.

Apron has been operational for around six months and is already processing millions of pounds. The product targets small businesses, which makes its offerings quite affordable.

Small businesses can work with a pay-as-you-go plan that also comes with a free subscription. This plan charges a £1.20 per supplier payment fee. Large companies can also use the service, but these ones will have to pay a monthly subscription fee, reducing the cost to £0.50 per supplier payment.