Cobre Raises $13 Million to Expand Payment Automation Platform

Cobre has reportedly raised $13 million to take its treasury platform beyond its native Colombia.

As TechCrunch reported Thursday (Oct. 5), the company plans to enter Mexico next year, while also updating its product — initially designed for big companies — for use by smaller businesses.

Jose Vicente Gedeon, one of the company’s founders, described Cobre’s offering in an interview with the publication.

It includes enterprise software that centralizes payment initiation and reconciliation for Colombian finance teams. Cobre’s in-house payment rails allow for instant payments and real-time data.

Creating its own payment rail, Gedeon added, was “a long-game approach that takes time but delivers the best, most direct and most customizable experience for clients.”

“It has allowed us to act as a universal translator for each bank, ERP (enterprise resource planning) and company,” he added. “That way, we can skip the unnecessary intermediation that is typical of payments and truly open the financial systems for our clients.”

He added that the company is gradually growing its customer base to serve the mid-sized companies that receive payments from Cobre’s larger clients.

“This translated to a track record of high-ticket B2B subscriptions in a region that has been slow to adopt SaaS, as well as low customer acquisition costs,” Gedeon said, referring to “Software-as-a-Service.”

PYMNTS Intelligence has shown the value automation can offer finance chiefs when it comes to improving the payment process.

As reported here earlier this week, data from “Solving Accounts Payables’ Top Frictions With Automation” showed that 54% of CFOs saw improvements in invoice tracking methods because of payments automation. Meanwhile, 46% of respondents said automation software had lowered delays around payments and exceptions.

“The data also revealed that 39% of respondents saw a drop in delays caused by invoicing errors and discrepancies, and nearly 36% and 25%, respectively, credited automation with reducing delays around materials or supply shortages and in shipping,” the report said.

And in a recent interview with PYMNTS, Nathan Bhatt, vice president of B2B products and partnerships at American Express, noted the way technical architecture around payments can set a business up for success.

“The world of business today is moving super fast, and that certainly applies to the realm of accounts payable (AP) and accounts receivable (AR),” he said.

“Business decisions need to be made instantly, finances need to be balanced quickly and accurately, and dozens if not thousands of payments per business need to go out the door every day, along with being tracked and organized,” Bhatt added.

For all PYMNTS B2B coverage, subscribe to the daily B2B Newsletter.