Alternative payment platforms continue to attract investor interest as merchants seek faster, lower-cost ways to move money outside traditional card networks. AeroPay’s latest funding round highlights growing demand for account-to-account payment solutions that leverage open banking technologies, QR codes, and real-time settlement. By focusing on small businesses and underserved industries such as cannabis, AeroPay is positioning itself to capitalize on the shift toward digital payments that improve cash flow, reduce processing costs, and streamline merchant operations.
This release, posted in Cision PR Newswire, announces a seed round funding for AeroPay, a payments platform targeted at small businesses and specialty segments. AeroPay is a 2017 startup based in Chicago.
One would guess that the pandemic has raised the company’s profile a bit since it highlights e-payments, fast settlement, and non-card payments. These would all appeal to smaller businesses with cash flow, cash management, and margin issues.
‘The round was led by Continental Investors, also located in Chicago, a direct private investment firm leveraging more than 70 years of investing expertise in financial services and commerce. Continental’s portfolio includes e-commerce marketplace Drizly, publicly-traded financial technology company Sezzle, online payments provider WePay, acquired by JPMorgan Chase in 2017, and mobile payments platform LevelUp, acquired by GrubHub in 2018. Other investors in the round include previous angel investors and new strategic investors from the Chicago tech community and financial services industry….”We built our platform to simplify the payments process for owners and operators in all industries and verticals,” said Daniel Muller, CEO & Founder of AeroPay. “We’re extremely excited about the group of investors we’ve brought on, specifically the team at Continental Investors, as their expertise aligns perfectly with the type of company we’ve set out to create.” ‘
While we have not received a briefing, a quick look at the website reveals QR Code acceptance and bank account balance checking to reduce NSF situations. That would indicate some sort of open banking, API-based process. The settlement timing (same or next day) also suggests Same Day ACH and possibly Zelle are preferred payment rails.
The company also appeals to the legal cannabis industry due to that sector’s apparent reliance upon cash payments. But the main target is small business B2B and retail and e-commerce payments.This would suggest that ‘Request for Pay’ through RTP might be in the future as well.
‘ ‘”We have a guiding conviction that payments remains an underinvested and under-innovated category in C2B and B2B commerce,” said Paul M. Purcell, (Partner) of Continental Investors. “For nearly 15 years, Continental has successfully invested and partnered with entrepreneurs pushing innovation in and around financial services and commerce. We are thrilled to welcome Dan Muller and his team at AeroPay to our portfolio.” ‘
AeroPay’s funding reflects the broader momentum behind alternative payment platforms built on open banking and real-time payment infrastructure. As merchants continue looking for lower-cost alternatives to card payments, solutions that combine instant settlement, QR code payments, and direct bank transfers are likely to see increased adoption. Success will ultimately depend on merchant acceptance, consumer adoption, and continued innovation in faster payment rails.
Overview by Steve Murphy, Director, Commercial and Enterprise Payments Advisory Service at Mercator Advisory Group
