Till Payments raises $110m funding as CEO Shadi Haddad looks to double staff

This Sydney start-up is on track to join the likes of Afterpay and Airwallex, closing a global $110m funding round.

Till CEO Shadi Haddad. Source: Supplied.

Sydney-based fintech disrupter Till Payments is on track to join local success stories Afterpay and Airwallex and become a billion dollar tech company, landing a major $110m in private capital as it embarks on a global expansion.

The start-up, founded by CEO Shadi Haddad, is taking on the banks with its single-source solutions that allow merchants to accept any payment wherever and whenever their customers shop.

Till has now raised a $110m in Series C funding from new and existing investors based in Australia and the US, including Avenir Growth, Woodson Capital, and Akuna Capital.

Long-term investor Australian-based Regal Funds Management also participated in the round, which will be used to broaden Till’s reach in international markets including New Zealand, the UK, Europe and the US.

Mr Haddad – who funded the company himself in its early days – said Till has 125 staff and is looking to double its headcount in the next 12 months.

“Till was born out of the idea that merchants aren’t all one size, and they need simple and seamless solutions, in what is a complex payment ecosystem that has largely been formed by the banks and the legacy systems that they’re encumbered with,” he said in an interview.

The company was formed in 2012 and its technology is now in about 500 cities globally. It partners with more than 350 organisations in 12 countries and services industries including parking and transport, retail, hospitality and travel and e-commerce and offers merchant solutions such as online and point of sale payments and fraud solutions.

“We’re in a sector that has got a huge addressable market, and we’re now solving problems at a mass scale. We’re seeing a lot of appetite for supporting businesses like ours on a high growth journey,” he said.

“Now that we’re at the global scale we’re at, you need really solid backers who understand the opportunity and we’ve been very fortunate to have high conviction from local investors as well as international ones.

“Aussies really can punch above their weight and really take their businesses global.”

The company’s executive team is made up of banking and finance executives including former MasterCard divisional CFO Peter Slater and former SimplePay CEO Chris Hicks, as well as former American Express general manager Fady Daher.

The company’s board also features industry stalwarts including chairman Greg Miles, and independent directors John Banfield, the CEO of BPay, and Carsales board member Edwina Gilbert.

American investor Jamie Reynolds, partner at Avenir Growth Capital, said Till is challenging the one-size-fits-all approach that banks and global processors typically impose on merchants on a global scale.

“Till is uniquely positioned to be a market leader in the global payments industry with its world-class omni-channel payments platform and merchant-centric approach. We are excited to partner with Till to support their sustainable long-term growth in both the Australian and international markets,” he said.

“The Australian payments and banking landscape is dominated by a small group of incumbent players that are ripe for disruption. Till is positioned to win this market with its world-class technology platform, transparent pricing and better customer service that these incumbents will struggle to match.”

Till is rumoured to be mulling an IPO but would not comment on its plans or disclose its total valuation.