Startups > Melio

Melio

Melio helps small businesses automate B2B payments and receivables digitally.
Series E $654M total Founded 2018 New York, New York 629 employees
Melio is an all-in-one bill pay and invoicing platform that digitizes business-to-business payments for small and mid-market businesses. It enables companies to pay vendors via ACH transfers, credit cards, or debit cards—even when vendors only accept checks—while automating accounts payable and receivable workflows. With features like batch payments, approval workflows, virtual cards, and international payments across 80 countries, Melio transforms traditionally manual payment processes into streamlined, automated operations that improve cash flow management and save teams 15+ hours monthly.
Problem solved
Most U.S. business-to-business payments still occur via paper check, forcing companies to waste time on manual payment processing, lack visibility into cash flow, and miss opportunities for vendor relationships and rebates.
Target customer
Small to mid-market businesses (10-500 employees) in professional services, construction, retail, healthcare, food & beverage, logistics, and nonprofits with high vendor payment volumes and complex AP/AR workflows.
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Founders
M
Matan Bar
CEO & Co-Founder
Former Director of Global P2P Payments at PayPal leading $50B+ annual payment volume; founded and sold first company to eBay in 2012; holds dual BS in Computer Science and Management from Tel Aviv University.
I
Ilan Atias
CTO & Co-Founder
Co-founder of Melio, leading technical architecture and product development.
Z
Ziv Paz
Co-Founder
Co-founder of Melio, contributing to company strategy and growth.
T
Tomer Barel
President
Key executive at Melio driving business operations and strategic initiatives.
Funding history
Series B Unknown Unknown Led by Accel · Unknown
Series C Unknown Unknown Led by Coatue · Unknown
Series D $250M September 2021 Led by Thrive Capital, General Catalyst · Unknown
Series E $150M 2024 Led by Fiserv, Shopify Ventures, Capital One Ventures · Accel, Bessemer, Coatue, Frontline Ventures, General Catalyst, Latitude, Thrive Capital
Total raised: $654M
Industries
Financial Services B2B FinTech Payments
Pricing
Freemium model with five tiers: Go (free, 5 free ACH/month), Core ($25/mo), Boost ($55/mo), Unlimited ($80/mo), and Platinum (invite-only, custom pricing for 300K+/mo credit card volume). Transaction fees: ACH free, credit cards 2.9%, same-day ACH 1% (max $30), checks $1.50-$20 depending on method, international payments $20 flat.
Notable customers
119,000 total customers; notable partnerships include Capital One, Fiserv, Gusto, Clover, Shopify; processed $100B+ with 40M+ bills paid.
Integrations
QuickBooks, Xero, Gusto, Clover, Shopify, Salesforce, Zendesk, WordPress, Cloudflare
Tech stack
Zendesk (Documentation) Webpack HTTP/3 WordPress (Blogs) HSTS (Security) PHP (Programming languages) Apple iCloud Mail (Webmail) Google Workspace (Email) Cloudflare (CDN) Salesforce Marketing Cloud Account Engagement (Marketing automation) MySQL (Databases) Salesforce (CRM) Kinsta (PaaS)
Website
meliopayments.com/
Competitors
BILL AP/AR
More enterprise-focused with broader feature set; Melio delivers 48% cost savings for small teams and offers international payments BILL lacks.
Stampli
Document-centric AP platform; Melio focuses on payment flexibility and automation with stronger payment method options.
Tipalti
Global payables platform for enterprise use; Melio is more accessible to SMBs with simpler UI and lower pricing.
QuickBooks Bill Pay
Integrated accounting tool; Melio offers international payments (80 countries, 15 currencies), card payment options, and lower fees.
Plastiq
Payment processing service; Melio combines full AP/AR management with better integration ecosystems and lower per-transaction costs.
Why this matters: Melio has raised $654M at a $2B valuation (down from $4B in 2021) and hit 119,000 customers by digitizing a massive, legacy market—B2B payments still dominated by paper checks. With backing from financial giants like Fiserv and Capital One, plus a 10x revenue increase since Series D, Melio represents both the fintech disruption opportunity and the challenges of scaling a crowded payments space.
Best for: Small to mid-market businesses seeking to eliminate paper checks, automate vendor payments, streamline AP/AR workflows, and gain better cash flow visibility without complex enterprise implementations.
Use cases
Construction Company Simplifies Vendor Payments
A 50-person construction firm with 100+ active vendors typically spent 8 hours weekly processing check payments and tracking receivables. With Melio, they now batch-pay vendors via ACH at no cost, earn cash back on credit card payments to vendors who accept them, and use approval workflows to enforce payment policies—saving 15+ hours monthly while maintaining vendor relationships.
Healthcare Practice Accelerates Receivables
A multi-location healthcare practice struggled with delayed insurance reimbursements and manual invoice tracking. Melio's invoicing and payment links enabled them to accelerate collections from patients and insurance providers, while integrating with their accounting system eliminated manual data entry and reduced DSO by 8 days.
Professional Services Firm Gains Financial Control
A 30-person consulting firm lacked visibility into who could approve vendor payments, leading to unauthorized spending. Melio's tiered approval workflows and user permission controls ensured the finance team maintained control while empowering project managers to request payments within defined limits, reducing approval time from days to hours.
Alternatives
BILL AP/AR Choose BILL for large enterprises needing comprehensive AP/AR suites with advanced reporting; choose Melio for SMBs prioritizing payment flexibility, lower cost, and ease of use.
Stampli Choose Stampli if document management and invoice capture are your primary pain points; choose Melio if you need a complete payment and receivables platform with flexible vendor payment methods.
QuickBooks Bill Pay Choose QuickBooks if you're already deeply embedded in the QuickBooks ecosystem; choose Melio for international payments, credit card rebates, and more flexible payment options outside accounting software.
FAQ
What does Melio do? +
Melio is a bill pay and invoicing platform that helps small businesses automate accounts payable and receivable workflows. It lets you pay vendors via ACH transfers, credit cards, or debit cards—even when they only accept checks—while providing features like batch payments, approval workflows, virtual cards, international payments, and buy-now-pay-later options. Melio integrates with accounting software like QuickBooks and Xero to streamline payment processing.
How much does Melio cost? +
Melio offers a free plan with 5 free ACH payments monthly, then paid plans starting at $25/month (Core), $55/month (Boost), and $80/month (Unlimited). ACH transfers are free after your monthly limit; credit card payments cost 2.9%, same-day ACH costs 1% (max $30), checks cost $1.50-$20, and international payments cost $20 flat. Enterprise (Platinum) plans with custom pricing are available for high-volume users.
What are alternatives to Melio? +
Top alternatives include BILL AP/AR (more enterprise-focused but pricier), Stampli (document-centric AP platform), Tipalti (global payables for enterprises), QuickBooks Bill Pay (accounting software integration), and Plastiq (payment processor). Each has different strengths depending on company size, industry, and specific workflow needs.
Who uses Melio? +
Melio serves 119,000 customers across professional services, construction, retail, healthcare, food & beverage, logistics, and nonprofits. The platform is best suited for small to mid-market businesses (10-500 employees) with 50+ monthly vendor payments. Notable partners include Capital One, Fiserv, Gusto, Clover, and Shopify, with users having processed $100B+ in payments.
How does Melio compare to BILL? +
Melio offers 48% cost savings versus BILL for a typical 10-person team with 75 monthly vendor payments, primarily due to lower monthly subscription fees ($80 vs. $155) and lower per-check costs ($1.50 vs. $1.99). Melio also supports credit card rebates and international payments (80 countries) that BILL doesn't offer, making it ideal for SMBs; BILL is better suited for larger enterprises needing comprehensive reporting and deep accounting integrations.
Tags
B2B payments accounts payable accounts receivable bill pay invoicing payment automation cash flow management small business digital payments vendor payments