Fintech unicorn Pleo, which offers a smart business spending solution, has formed a strategic partnership with open banking platform Yapily to enable a simplified payments experience for its UK users.

Research shows that 82% of businesses that fail do so due to poor cash flow management. Together, Pleo and Yapily are helping to address this problem through the power of open banking.

Via Yapily Payments, Pleo users can now top up their Pleo account directly from their bank account. This allows customers to receive funds instantly, side-stepping lengthy settlement times at an average of 48 hours. As a result, businesses and employees across Europe can access faster cash injections where needed, and better calculate and manage their cash flow so they’re free to pay bills promptly and be agile in seizing opportunities. 

Last month, Pleo saw 54% of its customers' first wallet load done via the open banking platform. In almost six months, Yapily has enabled Pleo to process over £10 million in open banking payments, helping thousands of businesses to solve their spending management challenges and take back control over cash flow. Through the partnership, Pleo is able to deliver operational efficiency, enhanced simplicity, and a more seamless experience to its customers. 

Pleo customers will also benefit from added security. With the user’s consent, a direct connection between the Pleo platform and the user’s bank account is made by Yapily to initiate the transfer of funds, reducing the risk of both potential card fraud and human error for the customer.

Olov Eriksson, Chief Product Officer at Pleo, says:

‘This partnership with Yapily is all about maximising the benefits of open banking technology to enable frictionless user journeys. Manual processes, settlement periods, and bottlenecks in cash flow are all avoidable obstacles. We want to enable our users to focus on what really matters: growing their business and empowering their people.’

Stefano Vaccino, Founder and CEO at Yapily, adds:

‘Partnering with Pleo is an exciting moment in our mission to improve the financial lives of millions of businesses and consumers through open banking. Current market conditions mean that businesses in the UK and across Europe are looking for ways to better manage costs and increase cash flow now more than ever. We’re proud to be lifting some of the burdens for them in the way we know how. I’m very much looking forward to continuing to work with the team at Pleo and helping them meet the evolving needs of their customers as they continue to expand across Europe.’

This is the start of an exciting roadmap for the duo with geographic and product expansion on the horizon. Open banking top-ups for Pleo customers will be rolled out across Europe over the coming months, starting with the Netherlands and France. Pleo will also be looking to leverage a broader range of Yapily’s innovative payments solutions following the launch of its Variable Recurring Payments product in August.