Digital payment processor Paypal has made a £9m ($12m) investment in UK-based payment software provider Modulr, through its corporate venturing unit, Paypal Ventures.
Modulr has built a payments-as-a-service application programming interface (API) used by digital businesses in the lending, banking, financial technology, travel, employment services and accounting sectors.
The company’s API enables business customers to automate payment flows, embed payments into their own products and build new payment products and services. The funding will be used to develop new products, grow headcount and expand its customer base.
Modulr has raised more than $84m of cumulative funding to date, having picked up $23.1m in a May 2020 round led by Highland Europe that also featured Frog Capital, Blenheim Chalcot and other existing investors.
Frog Capital led a $17.8m round for Modulr in May 2019 that was backed by Blenheim Chalcot and unnamed other investors. Blenheim Chalcot had led a round eight months earlier that increased the company’s total funding to approximately $13.8m.
Modulr CEO Myles Stephenson said, “This investment marks an important milestone for Modulr’s modern payments infrastructure.
“Modulr lowers the barriers to bringing payments into a platform, creating endless new possibilities for our customers while allowing them to focus on their core competencies. The investment from PayPal Ventures enhances our ability to execute on that vision.”