CBA to buy Xero cast-off Waddle
The local invoice finance start-up was a casualty of Xero’s restructuring earlier this year.
The Commonwealth Bank of Australia (CBA) will buy invoice lending platform Waddle from Xero, which announced it would exit the local start-up in March as part of a global restructuring plan.
The agreement involves CBA’s venture-scaling arm, x15ventures, and begins a fresh chapter for the Sydney-based fintech after Xero wrote down its investment by $NZ48.5 million in May.
Waddle, which will be a decade old next year, was acquired by Xero for $31 million in 2020 and continued as a separate business under founders Simon Creighton and Nathan Andrews.
CBA said the deal accelerated its ambition to provide “leading working capital solutions” for small businesses, with the Waddle app accessing the money locked up in unpaid invoices. It connects with MYOB and QuickBooks in addition to Xero, and CBA said bringing the technology in-house would help it grow its Stream Working Capital product.
CBA group executive business banking Mike Vacy-Lyle said Waddle supported the bank’s focus on simplifying finance.
“Access to working capital is vital for many businesses and Stream Working Capital offers greater flexibility, simplicity and faster access to cash flow,” Mr Vacy-Lyle said.
“We launched Stream Working Capital as a digital solution to use outstanding invoices as loan security, with the loan size reducing as invoices are paid. This digital end-to-end solution was a first for a major Australian bank.
“Through acquiring the Waddle platform, we can continue to provide the best integrated digital working capital solution in the market and support more of our customers with faster funding assessments and approvals. This is a positive step in helping more Australian businesses to maximise cash flow and drive business growth.”
The managing director of x15ventures, Toby Norton-Smith, said the acquisition was a great opportunity.
“This will bring together a phenomenal product and distribution arm in Stream Working Capital with the secure technology and operating environment of x15ventures, giving Waddle the flexibility and freedom to continue innovating at pace,” he said.
“We set up x15ventures so that digital native businesses can operate how they’re used to – both culturally and technically – while also getting access to the assets and reach of one of Australia’s leading banks.
“We look forward to welcoming Waddle to x15ventures and helping them continue to realise their ambitions to scale and support more small businesses.”
CBA began x15 three years ago to build, buy and invest in start-ups that could extend its existing products.
The purchase price for Waddle has not been revealed.
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