Relay Raises $32.2 Million to Expand Business Banking Platform

Relay has raised $32.2 million in a Series B financing round to accelerate product development of its business banking platform.

With the new funding, the company will focus on its development of spend management, smart credit products and a financial application programming interface (API) marketplace, Relay said in a Wednesday (May 29) press release.

The company aims to provide small and medium-sized businesses (SMBs) with the tools they need to address cash flow problems, Yoseph West, co-founder and CEO of Relay, said in the release.

“Relay gives them cash flow clarity and control — what SMBs need to sustainably fuel everyday operations — by pairing financial services with software and making banking work harder for them,” West said.

The company’s online banking platform makes it easy to see their cash position at a glance and understand what they are earning, spending and saving, according to the release.

On average, business owners use the Relay platform login 13 times a month, the release said. Among those who use the platform for their primary banking, 40% log in daily.

Relay’s revenues rose threefold in 2022 and sixfold in 2023, per the release.

The company’s latest funding round was led by Bain Capital Ventures, according to the release.

“Relay’s been on an incredible trajectory, even as others in the industry have had to pivot and find new footing,” Kevin Zhang, partner at Bain Capital Ventures, said in the release. “We were eager to get behind Relay again as the company enters its next stage of growth and doubles down on the unique needs of the SMB market.”

The traditional channels through which SMBs manage their finances and their operations leave plenty of room for innovation and improvement, Zaid Rahman, CEO of financial platform Flex, told PYMNTS in an interview posted in September 2023.

While there are a slew of providers offering solutions, many cover only one part of an SMB’s operations, Rahman said.

“There are some big players and some small players, but it’s all very piecemeal, and since there isn’t a CFO at these companies, you don’t have the time to compile 15 different products into one back office,” Rahman said.