Z?m Rails Raises $10.5M As It Brings Together Open Banking and Instant Payments Capabilities in the U.S.

Z?m Rails, the all-in-one payments gateway that merges open banking with instant payments, today announced the close of a $10.5 million CAD Series A funding round. The round was led by Arthur Ventures, a Minneapolis-based growth equity firm that specializes in B2B software.

Compared to other markets around the world, the U.S. has been slower to standardize practices around open banking and instant payments. While this is now changing with forthcoming data sharing regulations and new programs such as FedNow, the options for businesses to offer these experiences to their consumers are still fragmented. This means that businesses have to weave together individual capabilities from across the payments ecosystem in order to provide consumers with a holistic transaction experience that doesn't compromise speed, flexibility or security.

Z?m Rails integrates open banking and instant payments into a single gateway that powers the entire transaction journey. This includes everything from verifying a customer's identity, to linking directly with their bank account to reduce fraud and failed transactions, to facilitating payments via the method of the customer's choosing. Z?m Rails' ?omni-rail' approach to payments includes both traditional credit, debit and electronic funds transfer (EFT) options, as well as real-time options through partners such as Visa Direct, Mastercard, MX and Canada's Interac network.

"Companies that want to move money instantly need to adjust for risk, and open banking is the greatest gift to payments in this regard," said Marc Milewski, co-founder and CEO, Z?m Rails. "We've brought open banking and instant payments together in an omni-rail solution that enables companies to check off all of their payments needs from a single gateway. With Arthur Ventures' investment, we're positioned for further expansion of our solution through the addition of Banking-as-a-Service and other new capabilities."

Since its founding in 2019, Z?m Rails has self-funded its way to profitability, establishing itself as a leading payment gateway across North America. Now, the company is setting its sights on continued expansion in the U.S, where it's working with financial service providers such as Fiserv to democratize access to open banking capabilities and real-time, FDIC-insured payments for businesses.

"Payments are the lifeblood of every business, but too often, keeping up with the ever-evolving array of services needed to process payments quickly, efficiently and securely stands in the way of success," said Jake Olson, Vice President, Arthur Ventures. "Z?m Rails' explosive growth is validation of its ability to solve this problem. Having already transformed the Canadian payments landscape, the company is well-positioned to increase this growth with the investments it's making in its product and scaling its presence across all of North America."

In addition to scaling its U.S. growth, Z?m Rails will use the funding to further expand its payments offerings, including the introduction of new Banking-as-a-Service features for merchants. The company is additionally working on a forthcoming FedNow offering in the U.S. that will enable businesses to send and receive FDIC-insured payments within seconds.

"From open banking to instant payments, Z?m Rails has been on the front lines of the biggest payment technology advancements before many of them were even a thought in businesses' minds," said Miles Schwartz, co-founder and Chief Sales Officer, Z?m Rails. "Our long-term vision, however, goes far beyond the individual capabilities we offer. Integrating these capabilities into a single solution that makes businesses' lives easier will continue to be our focus as we double down on our expansion in the U.S."

Z?m Rails processes more than $1 billion in payments through its platform each month for companies including Questrade, Coinsquare and Desjardins, the largest federation of credit unions in North America.

About Z?m Rails

Z?m Rails is the company merging open banking and instant payments through an all-in-one payments gateway. The company's multi-rail approach to payments enables businesses and their customers to utilize the payment rails that best fit their needs in the fastest, safest and most efficient way possible. Z?m Rails works with financial services companies like Visa, Mastercard, Fiserv and MX to support the entire payments journey?all from a single API. The company is backed by Arthur Ventures and headquartered in Montreal, Quebec.

Learn more at zumrails.com