Deposify raises €1.1m to fund US expansion

Bank of Ireland, Escher Group Holdings and Enterprise Ireland back fintech start-up

Deposify founder Jon Bayle said: “We are delighted to welcome our new investors and excited about building our US offering.” Photograph: Bernhard Richter/Getty Images/iStockphoto
Deposify founder Jon Bayle said: “We are delighted to welcome our new investors and excited about building our US offering.” Photograph: Bernhard Richter/Getty Images/iStockphoto

Dublin-based financial technology start-up Deposify has raised €1.1 million to fund a US expansion programme.

The money was raised from a number of sources including Bank of Ireland’s Start-Up and Emerging Sectors Equity Fund, which is managed by Delta Partners.

Funding was also provided by Escher Group Holdings plc, Enterprise Ireland and a number of angel investors.

Set up in 2014, Deposify provides escrow services to landlords, tenants and letting agents. It has partnered with Bank of Ireland for its banking solution and Escher Group for its technology platform, and has offices in Dublin and Boston.

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Founded by Jon Bayle, its payments platform allows landlords and tenants to manage and control how and when rental deposits are paid, and to resolve deposit-related disputes quickly.

Excited

Speaking about the expansion, Mr Bayle said: “We are delighted to welcome our new investors and excited about building our US offering. We think it’s important for fintech start-ups to be well funded given the ongoing investment required in technology and regulatory compliance.

“We’re effectively a mobile- first payments company and we’ve worked very closely with the innovation team at Bank of Ireland, leveraging their banking experts and other solutions and resources.”

Dave Tighe, head of innovation at Bank of Ireland, welcomed Deposify's expansion. "We have worked closely with the team to provide the best possible banking solution for their requirements and we are delighted to play a part in their success," he said. "Support for the start-up community is one of our pillar activities . . . and we look forward to working with the team over the coming years."

Deposify is designed to provide three main services: banking, compliance and dispute resolution. One of the core elements of its technology is bank-level security and infrastructure when handling users’ money and information.

“We plan on retaining our technology development in Ireland, where we have access to talent and expertise through our partnership with Escher Group, and expand our sales and customer support capability in the US,” Mr Bayle said.

Latest accounts for Deposify show it had accumulated losses of €148,296 at June 30th, 2015.

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock

Ciarán Hancock is Business Editor of The Irish Times