The Fintech Report Podcast - Episode 9: Ben Pfisterer, CEO & Co-Founder of Zeller

The FinTech Report Podcast: Interview with Ben Pfisterer, CEO & Co-Founder of Zeller

“Business banking in a Box”: Strategy behind Zeller’s $81m Cap raise

We welcome CEO and co-founder of Zeller, Ben Pfisterer, to the podcast

Just last year, ex-head of APAC at Square, Ben, founded Zeller, an Australian integrated payments and financial services solution. The company recently announced a $50M fundraise, led by US VC firm Spark Capital, following its initial Series A funding round in March 2021. 

Zeller raised $81M in under 12 months, all before having a product on the market  — making it Australia’s most valuable pre-launch startup ever. 

Zeller’s product suite (Zeller Terminal, transaction account and MasterCard) launched in May, with early growth of 1,500 Australian businesses signing up in the first month and weekly payment volume growing 200% since launch.

In this episode we discuss:

Ben’s background, working at Jetstar, NAB, and recently, six years at Square…

Background to Zeller – what makes Zeller different. Australian business banking is dominated by “the Big 4” and there is no innovation and many restrictive contracts.

Three things companies all need; need to accept payments, they need to put the money somewhere, and then put the money to work – Zeller solves all three.

Zeller call it “Business Banking in a Box” (terminal, account, Mastercard) (not an ADI or RADI, but will be at some stage)

Zeller’s strategy is to take on the banks! With Australia’s fintech landscape booming, how are retailers benefiting from new competition against the big four banks? 

Zeller believes in transparency and is priced to appeal. Zeller offers businesses a startup package at $299, with no ongoing terminal rental fees etc, and 1.4% fee for payments.

Zeller can sign up companies in minutes online (KYC, on boarding), tech built to be scalable and reliable. What makes Zeller different from the big four? 

Migration away from cash. We’ve seen a shift towards online payments during the pandemic; has it had an impact on in-person payments? How does Zeller think in-person payments will change post-pandemic?

Zeller’s fundraising – some will go towards customer acquisition.

Ben talks through his fundraising journey, his vision for the company and how the founding team has created a culture that was born in a lockdown/pandemic, his views on regulation and competition. Ben says Regulators need to help fintech startups with an ‘unfair advantage’ until they ‘get up on their feet’

Our thanks to Australian FinTech News and Envestnet Yodlee for their support of The FinTech Report Podcast.