At a recent event for fintech startups, an investor noted that venture funding for seed and A rounds was growing scarce, while rounds for more-established firms continues apace.
Today’s news from Israeli payments startup Zooz resoundingly supports that notion. The company raised some $24 million in a Series C round to make a push in Europe, specifically in Germany, as well as in the U.S. New sales and support offices will open in San Francisco and Berlin to support Zooz’s growth, TechCrunch reports. The round was led by Target Global Ventures and more than doubles Zooz’s total funding.
Zooz, which participated in last year’s Bank Innovation Israel, provides a gateway for merchants to accept payments from a wide array of customers. In today’s global market, the many forms of digital payments can be bewildering, and Zooz aims to simplify that. Competitors include Spreedly and BlueSnap.
Based in Israel, a small market that depends on many global trading partners, Zooz specializes in helping merchants accept payments from, well, just about anywhere. “We know [how] to route to the right payment processor, increasing the chances of the card being accepted,” Ronen Morecki, co-founder and CTO of Zooz, told TechCrunch.
Zooz CEO Oren Levy noted that the international payments landscape is in a state of rapid flux, with mobile and social payments posing particular challenges for merchants.
“The payment industry is constantly evolving as global e-commerce and merchant needs develop,” Levy told Bank Innovation.
“What’s next in payments?” he asked. “Smarter global payments. Generally speaking, we see a lot of progress and interest in cross border. Everyone has already realized that there is a big market opportunity out there to sell globally, but it has to be done efficiently and correctly.”