Paytron co-founders Jaco Paytron and Francois Henrion. Source: Provided.
Co-founders Jaco Paytron and Francois Henrion launched fintech payment platform Paytron during one of the most difficult times in recent history. With the global pandemic just beginning and market volatility reaching an all-time high, Paytron was formed as a tool for accountants to automate basic processes.
Since then, the start-up has evolved to solve a multitude of payment problems for small businesses, accountants and corporate businesses, including payment automation and processing, accounts payable processing, international money transfers, payroll and more. .
Alongside the evolution of Paytron’s technology, Paytron’s startups have seen great success, recently winning the annual Fintech Awards for ‘Fintech Startup of the Year’ and Commbank’s Xccelerate funding.
So how did Paytron evolve from an idea formed during the pandemic to one of Australia’s fastest growing startups?
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It all started with the simple idea of automating the payment process
In early 2020, co-founders Jaco and Francois met when many were preparing to smash their business hatches to weather the COVID-19 storm.
After years of working in the industry, sharing their frustration with the shortcomings of financial tools for small businesses and accountants, they decided to take the plunge and start Paytron.
“It was an interesting time when François and I met the week the pandemic really started, but I knew that the problems facing many accountants and small businesses could be solved in a simpler and more efficient way. I was.so we asked for it,” Jaco said.
“The pandemic has definitely been one of our accelerators. No more sitting next to each other in the office to get quick financial approval for bills. However, this has made many realize how outdated the payment process is and how many control and security vulnerabilities exist.‘ explained Jaco.
In an era when all processes are digital, Paytron has created a payment dashboard that allows users to upload, prepare and approve invoices and expenses using workflows.
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Evolution of Peytron
With major customers such as Jaycar Electronics, George Medicines, Selina and Dermalogica, Paytron has experienced significant growth over the past two years. However, with its growth, Paytron as a product has seen many changes.
“We started out very humble with just wanting to automate bill payments, but client questions prompted us to build a platform to develop systems that enhance the financial and overall operations of a business through automation. is ready.said Jaco.
“Our platform provides your workplace with a centralized invoice approval workflow. There, it automatically approves certain prices for certain individuals and sends some costs to the CEO for final approval.This process saved the company countless hours of administrative work and eliminated room for human error.said Jaco.
Discovering the security risks of existing payment processes in the market, the startup also created a fully closed payment ecosystem for specific payment processes to protect its customers from financial fraud and security.
“We have found that certain internal controls in bill payment workflows (such as those performed in batch payments) are not completely secure.Text file type is editable by anyone and can overwrite customer information such as name, address and payment details‘ explained Jaco.
“In our system, information is contained in a closed ecosystem that is protected from editing and modification. This is something we are very passionate about when it comes to protecting our customers from the risks associated with financial fraud.said Jaco.
The company is now helping companies process employee reimbursement, which has become a major issue for employees around the world.
“There has been a lot of interest in this new feature as many employees have not been reimbursed for their expenses and have been forced to pay their own expenses for some time due to poor payment processes.,” He said.
“Employees can provide one of their virtual cards or upload their expenses instantly to a centralized platform. The approver will be notified and the payment will be returned to the employee within 2-24 hours of her approval.‘ explained Jaco.
Advice for future founders
After two years of continuous success, Jaco said finding the right partner was essential to the journey. Online payment provider Pin Payments is working with the startup to help Paytron accept international payments and automate the process.
“We are lucky to have such a great partner as Pin Payments.They are very supportive and a big part of our journey. Being able to process payments globally in different currencies is a huge advantage of their service and very important to us.said Jaco.
“However, outside of being a great partner, my advice to new founders is to use the best technology possible and get it to market as quickly as possible. Because client feedback is essential to our success.said Jaco.
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