Paysme

Paysme was a fintech startup founded in 2020 by Derek Stewart, a former banker at BNY Mellon. The company aimed to create a "super app" to support small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) in the UK and Ireland, a segment it considered underserved by traditional financial institutions.

Stewart's background in banking likely provided him with insights into the challenges faced by SMEs in accessing financial services. This experience appears to have been the driving force behind the creation of Paysme, which was designed to be a one-stop shop for businesses, offering a range of embedded financial services. The company's mission was to revitalize local economies by empowering SMEs with digital tools.

Paysme's business model was centered around its super app, which integrated various financial services into a single platform. The app provided functionalities such as mobile payments, e-commerce capabilities, digital banking, accounting tools, and access to lending services. To deliver these services, Paysme established partnerships with several key players in the financial industry, including Barclays, Railsbank, TOQIO, Bambora, and Cybersource. The company intended to generate revenue through this platform, although specific details of its revenue streams are not widely publicized. Despite raising $396,000 in funding from 33 investors over two rounds, Paysme ceased operations in early 2024.

Keywords: SME finance, super-app, digital banking, mobile payments, e-commerce, lending, embedded finance, fintech, business financial services, UK & Ireland