PayTech startup Atoa has raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Leo Capital and Passion Capital, alongside angel investors such as Matt Robinson and Moon Capital Ventures. Atoa is a mobile app that allows small businesses to accept payments at a fraction of the cost charged by card machine providers and the duopoly of Mastercard and Visa. Atoa claims it can improve cash flow and profit margins for small businesses while providing customers with an easy-to-use payment option.
Atoa has raised $2.2 million in a pre-seed funding round led by Leo Capital and Passion Capital. The funding round also included angel investors such as Matt Robinson (co-founder of GoCardless and Nested) alongside Moon Capital Ventures. Anil Stocker, Co-Founder and CEO of MarketFinance, serves as a company advisor.
According to Atoa, it is building an alternative for small businesses to accept payments at a fraction of the costs charged by the duopoly of Mastercard and Visa, as well as card machine providers who charge small businesses up to 1.75%. Atoa enables small businesses to accept payments via SMS, Pay-by Link or by displaying a QR code on their Atoa app or physical QR stand next to their till. Customers do not need to download a separate app to pay, anyone with a UK mobile banking app can pay via Atoa.
Atoa argues that the Mastercard and Visa payment rails have an effective duopoly in the market, which enables them to get away with net margins as high as 51% at the expense of small merchants and their customers. Atoa claims to be here to empower merchants and to improve their cash flow and bottom line. The company is aiming to break the card payment duopoly in the UK.
The fundraising round is expected to help Atoa in its mission to level the playing field for small and medium-sized merchants in the UK, by offering an alternative to payment cards and card machines that can be deployed in-store within minutes. With the support of investors such as Leo Capital and Passion Capital, Atoa aims to bring a viable alternative to small and medium-sized merchants, improve cash flows and economics for the country’s small merchants, and achieve even greater heights in a massively growing market.
