Melbourne unicorn Zeller enters the UK market with former ByteDance executive Lars Weber leading operations. The move marks Australia’s fastest-growing fintech’s first international step.
What’s happening: Australian fintech unicorn Zeller is launching into the United Kingdom, its first international market, targeting over 5.5 million businesses that process more than £1.3 trillion in card payments annually.
Why this matters: The UK represents an addressable market four times the size of Australia for Zeller’s integrated payment and financial ecosystem.
Zeller, the Melbourne-based fintech that reached unicorn status in 2022, is planting its flag in London as part of a broader global expansion strategy.
The company, which serves more than 100,000 Australian businesses and employs over 320 people, has selected the United Kingdom as its launchpad for international growth.
“This is a pivotal moment for Zeller,” said Ben Pfisterer, Zeller CEO and co-founder. “Our ambition has always been to create a global platform for small business banking. Expanding into the UK, one of the world’s largest and most dynamic small business economies, is the first step in realising that vision.”
Market four times larger
The numbers tell a compelling story. UK businesses process over £1.3 trillion in card payments annually, opening Zeller up to an opportunity four times the size of Australia. The addressable market includes over 5.5 million businesses, many of which continue to report challenges with legacy banks, including hidden fees, slow service and complex contracts.
Pfisterer points to a significant pain point in the market. More than 50 per cent of UK SMEs still use up to 10 disconnected payment and banking tools to manage their finances, creating complexity and inefficiency.
“Zeller’s rapid success in Australia demonstrated that business owners everywhere are tired of outdated systems that make managing their finances harder,” Pfisterer said. “The UK is one of the most advanced fintech markets in the world, and our experience building and deploying Australia’s leading all-in-one payments and financial solution to over 100,000 businesses has readied Zeller for global expansion.”
Building the UK team
To lead its UK operations, Zeller has appointed Lars Weber, a former ByteDance executive with extensive international experience launching technology businesses. The company will base itself in London, with recruitment underway to scale the team to over 40 people across technology, operations and go-to-market roles in the next three years. Team members have also been recruited from companies including Square and Pockit to support the upcoming launch.
The UK entry follows Zeller’s track record in Australia, where the company has demonstrated strong customer adoption. Joshua McNicol, Zeller’s Director of Growth, has previously highlighted how the company’s financial solutions provide business owners with real-time data from their business payments and spending to make informed decisions SMEs utilizing financial tools to mitigate rising costs.
Partnerships in place
Existing global partnerships with technology platforms including Oracle, Xero, Tevalis and Redcat will provide Zeller with the integrations to scale quickly and capture upmarket merchant demand at launch.
Zeller’s entry will provide UK business owners with a fully integrated ecosystem combining payments, business accounts, cards, expense management, invoicing and real-time financial reporting.
“Our decision to enter now reflects both the maturity of our product, and the scale of the global opportunity ahead of us to deliver a smarter and more accessible way for small businesses to manage their cash flow,” Pfisterer said.
Founded in 2020 by former Square APAC executives Ben Pfisterer and Dominic Yap, Zeller has grown from a pre-revenue startup to serving more than 100,000 Australian businesses in under five years. The UK expansion represents the company’s next phase of growth and ambition to scale its integrated payments and financial ecosystem globally.
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