Zeller enters UK as challenger to banks and fintechs on SME payments
Australian fintech unicorn, Zeller, launched today in the United Kingdom, bringing its all-in-one payment and financial solution to the country’s 5.7 million small and medium-sized businesses (SMEs).
The launch comes as UK businesses contend with rising operational costs while cardholders expect seamless checkout experiences. And unreliable, outdated payment technology is costing UK businesses dearly. Research conducted by Foresight Factory, commissioned by Zeller revealed that poor checkout experiences cause nearly half of customers to abandon purchases, placing over £22.7bn in payments at risk.
Zeller Terminal, the multi-award winning hardware being deployed in the UK, is set to redefine market expectations around payment hardware, software, and affordability. Zeller is a fully integrated financial ecosystem designed for modern merchants. Where legacy platforms and providers force merchants to stitch together payments, point-of-sale, invoicing, accounts, cards, and expense management across multiple platforms, Zeller brings it together in one account.
Zeller is also set to shake up the market by offering SMEs a payment solution which will save them both money and time. UK merchants will save up to 35% annually on processing fees in comparison to fintechs and legacy providers by switching to Zeller, equating to up to £5.2bn annually across the market.
In addition, Zeller’s fully digital account creation process takes business owners less than 6 minutes to complete, in comparison to the 5 days (on average) it takes for a business to register for payment services from legacy providers – with 50% requiring an in-person appointment or pen-and-paper application. Early indications of merchant demand for Zeller in the UK are strong, with over 100 businesses already signing up during the pre-launch testing phase.
“The UK is one of the world’s most advanced fintech markets and home to millions of small businesses that are vital to the economy. But despite progress being made, payments is dominated by legacy providers offering unreliable, outdated, and costly payments hardware, paired with lengthy and time-consuming onboarding processes. UK merchants have been underserved for too long.” commented Ben Pfisterer, co-founder and CEO of Zeller. “We built Zeller to support merchants with a smarter and more affordable way to manage their payments and business finances. Expanding to the UK, a market that is four times the size of Australia, is a natural next step as we continue building a modern financial solution designed for global businesses.”
Djihan Chagas, who has been using Zeller Terminal at his London-based furniture and homewares retail store Ferro Velho, commented “Good design is a big part of our brand, and Zeller Terminal reflects that. Combined with the flexibility to take payments in different ways, customise screens and receipts, it fits effortlessly into how we work.”
The UK launch marks Zeller’s first global market expansion outside Australia, where it supports more than 100,000 businesses including Domino’s Pizza, Baskin Robbins, The Cheesecake Shop, and major UK-based airport food and travel retailer, SSP.