Queensland govt, Mastercard back fintech Paypa Plane in $10 million Series A

Brisbane fintech Paypa Plane, which is at the forefront of instant payments, has raised $10 million in a Series A.

The round was led by the Queensland Investment Corporation (QIC) through the government’s $100 billion Business Investment Fund, with support from payments platform Cuscal, Mastercard and Queensland VC Sprint Ventures.

Paypa Plane is hoping to double its staffing to nearly 100 people. The company’s board has also grown to include Bianca Bates, deputy CEO and chief commerical officer of Cuscal, and Tyro CEO Jon Davey.

Founded in 2018 by Simone Joyce and Jonathan Grant, Paypa Plane is a digital payments provider, with a bank-grade platform for both traditional scheduled payments and payment initiation via the New Payments Platform (NPP) and PayTo. It allows financial institutions to introduce the fintech’s plug in solution to their existing payment product offerings.

Last year, the Commonwealth Bank took a 20% stake in Paypa Plane for an undisclosed sum.

Joyce said it’s an exciting period for Paypa Plane.

“We will focus on growth in Australia which will be driven by changes in our payment landscape and competition hotting up in business banking. We will also continue our expansion into the USA where we are seeing the similar drivers for growth,” she said.

“We are fortunate to have such strong shareholders that will support us with these objectives. We’re delighted to welcome QIC, Cuscal, Mastercard and Sprint Ventures to our shareholder list.”

Queensland Treasurer  Cameron Dick said Paypa Plane’s products are changing the way the banks interact with their customers in the global payments landscape.

“Now, with the backing of QIC, Paypa Plane’s Brisbane team will grow from 40 to almost 100 over the next five years to support further product development and deployment, strengthening Queensland’s expanding financial sector,” he said.

QIC private capital associate Nick Capell praised the team and culture Joyce and Grant built.

“Australian financial institutions and their corporate customers continue to navigate a changing payments environment,” he said.

“That includes balancing the need to support legacy infrastructure and prepare for the pending shift to PayTo, which Paypa Plane is well-positioned to capitalise on.

“The participation of strong domestic and global financial instituations in the round, and prior investments from CBA and Tyro, reflect the solution’s capability and the strategic importance of Paypa Plane’s technology.”