Payflow is a B2B2C platform that enables employees to access their earned income on-demand. Employees can use the mobile app to instantly get paid a fraction of their earned salary, whenever they want, or wherever they may be. Payflow is fair, transparent and affordable, unlike other short-term financing solutions. Employees feel their future is more secure knowing they have a safety net for unexpected expenses, improving their wellbeing and thus productivity. ###
History
Payflow was founded in January 2020 by Benoit Menardo and Avinash Sukhwani, with the mission to bring financial wellness to all Spaniards and people worldwide. In Spain, most employees are financially stressed and millions are forced to resort to overdrafts and microcredits. Employers also suffer due to the loss in productivity of their financially-stressed employees. Benoit and Avinash started Payflow with 3 objectives:
To improve employee financial wellbeing in Spain & beyond
To democratize financial education and literacy
To modernize employee payments to be consistent with the digital age we live in
Payflow allows employees to withdraw their earned salary anytime they want, instantly through a mobile app. In the event of an unexpected expense, employees can withdraw what they have already earned, avoiding loans or overdraft fees. Employers also benefit from having a more productive workforce and higher retention rate, without incurring any cost of their own.
In February 2020, Payflow raised a pre-seed funding round from Rocket Internet. With the funding, Benoit and Avinash brought together a team of experienced and highly-capable engineering and sales professionals to build and scale Payflow.
In April 2020, Payflow officially launched and closed its first several clients within the first month. Being born during the COVID-19 crisis brought challenges to the team with regards to communications and operations. However, financial stress was more prevalent among employees in Spain and around the world than before, and the need for Payflow’s solution was greater and more apparent.
In July 2020, after just 3 months of operations, Payflow raised 1.6 million euros from notable investors and venture capitalists, including Itnig, Rocket Internet, Lanai Partners, Abac Nest, Michael Benabou and Clement Benoit, among others. By then, Payflow already had over 30 client companies, including Fever and ByHours, who are already seeing significant improvements in the motivation and productivity of their employees thanks to greater financial wellbeing. ###
Founding Team
Prior to founding Payflow, Benoit and Avinash met while studying at Massachusetts Institute of Technology.
Benoit is a Brazilian-French citizen who worked as an engineer after university (Mines Paristech & MIT) before a 3-year stint in consulting at Bain & Company. He holds an MBA from INSEAD and co-founded a Rocket Internet B2B Logistics venture in South-East Asia before starting Payflow.
Avinash studied engineering in the UK (University of Cambridge and Imperial College London) and US (MIT). He brings the local expertise to Payflow: he was born and raised in Spain. He worked for 3 years at Boston Consulting Group and then co-founded Franksmile, a Rocket Internet D2C clear aligner venture, prior to starting Payflow.