Relio, a Swiss SME banking startup founded by Lav Odorovic, the co-founder of German digital bank Penta, has raised €3 million.

Relio is launching a digital payment account for business customers founded on a platform built to overcome the regulatory and compliance barriers that hamper similar ventures.

Odorovic says anti-money laundering compliance issues have remained the weakest link of challenger banks when serving business customers: "Complex ownership structures, international money flows and complicated business models pose higher risks in terms of fraud and money laundering. It can take customers from weeks to months to open an account due to ineffective due diligence. Transactions and accounts are often frozen as a preventive measure until they have been manually checked by experts."

He says Relio's automated compliance system will overcome the limitations placed on business customers who need to pay salaries and invoices on time.

With the financing round complete, the startup will advance the development of the tech stack and work on obtaining a Finma Fintech license. The venture is backed by SIX Fintech Ventures, High-Tech Gründerfonds, as well as TX Ventures as a new lead investor. The investor base also includes F10, Elsa Invest, daFUND, QBIT Capital and several business angels.