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Meet Zeller, the business fintech founded by ex-Square execs taking on Australia's big four banks

  • Former Square executives Ben Pfisterer and Dominic Yap have founded business fintech Zeller.

  • Having raised $6.3 million, Zeller aims to provide a financial solution for businesses covering payment, savings and spending.

  • While not technically a bank, Pfisterer has likened the company's services to that of a business-facing neobank.

  • Visit Business Insider Australia's homepage for more stories.


Square, co-founded by Twitter CEO Jack Dorsey, wants to change the way customers pay. Now Zeller wants to do the same for business finance as a whole.

Founded by former Square exec Ben Pfisterer and Dominic Yap, the Australian fintech is finally being unveiled after raising $6.3 million before the coronavirus pandemic.

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Speaking to Business Insider Australia, Pfisterer said the genesis of Zeller came from seeing Australian businesses left behind on the three fronts they use most.

"First and foremost they need to get paid, then they need somewhere to put that money and then need a way to deploy it, to pay their bills and staff and invest further. What we wanted to do was create a solution that did all three for them on one system," Pfisterer said.

"One simple set of fees, no lock-in contract, simpler to onboard and simpler to use."

While there's been some innovation around the edges, Pfisterer says Australian businesses have largely been lumped in with the big four banks who haven't been spurred to shake things up in a long while.

If it sounds at all familiar, perhaps it is. Australian neobanks have made similar promises to overhaul consumer banking and offer a much-need injection of competition.

While Zeller doesn't have any immediate plans to get a banking license, it may have taken some inspiration from Judo, the digital business lender which recently surpassed a $1 billion valuation.

It may not intend to lend like Judo but it clearly shows the significant appetite – not to mention spoils – for digital business alternatives.

Specifically, it's looking at the middle of the market, where Pfisterer says there are 1.5 million businesses which aren't being catered for.

Pfisterer says Zeller is now ready to make a mark of its own.

"You see neobanks popping up everywhere, but they're all consumer-focused. There's no sort of neobank focused on all these other business needs. It's quite complicated but we think we have something completely unique."