PEX raises $160 million in funding for spend management platform

PEX secured $160 million in new debt and equity financing to expand its corporate card and spend management business, the company said Tuesday. The PEX 160 million funding round is intended to support product development, broaden its charge card offering, increase transaction capacity and make the platform available to more companies, according to its announcement.

The New York-based company provides software that combines payments, credit, corporate cards, spend controls and financial automation. PEX said the financing will help it scale those services at a time when small and medium-sized businesses are seeking tools that reduce manual finance work and give teams clearer oversight of company spending.

“We believe the future of business finance is integrated, intelligent and accessible to companies of every size,” PEX founder and Chief Executive Toffer Grant said in the company’s release. “For too long, sophisticated financial tools were reserved for large enterprises. We’re changing that by combining payments, credit, spend management and automation into a single platform that helps businesses operate with greater control and confidence.”

What will PEX use the $160 million funding for?

PEX said the capital will fund product innovation and expansion of its charge card product, while also lifting transaction capacity and widening access to its platform. In practice, the company’s model brings card issuance, spending policies, credit and back-office automation into one system so finance teams can set controls, review transactions and manage workflows from a single platform.

The company linked demand for such services to several long-running shifts in business finance. Its release said millions of small and medium-sized businesses are expected to change ownership over the next decade as baby boomers retire. PEX also said finance leaders are under pressure to improve efficiency and visibility while expanding operations with leaner teams.

PEX said those trends create an opening for software-based finance operations to replace older banking and card products. By combining corporate cards, spend management, credit and automation, the company said its platform is designed to help finance teams reduce workflow friction, strengthen controls and make decisions with more current information.

Why spend management platforms are attracting attention

Spend management platforms give businesses a way to set rules for employee or departmental spending, issue cards and track transactions alongside approval and reconciliation processes. For smaller companies, the appeal is often operational: fewer disconnected systems and less time spent chasing payment information.

The funding follows signs that small businesses are assembling wider sets of payments and finance tools. PYMNTS reported earlier this month that small business owners are not necessarily seeking a smaller version of private banking, citing PYMNTS Intelligence research that found many want fewer financial tasks competing for their attention.

That report said the test for “concierge finance” products will be whether they help customers spend fewer hours tracking payments, make fewer avoidable cash-flow errors and obtain faster access to suitable capital, rather than the sheer number of features or support channels on offer.

Shena Ashley, president of the Capital One Insights Center, told PYMNTS this month that technology access is one factor behind small business optimism. “Small business owners right now have access to more tools and technology, and that’s a part of the story for what’s driving their optimism as well,” Ashley said. “They’re trying to create pathways of opportunity.”

Ashley added that many small business owners operate within a fragmented financial system that consumes time and limits their ability to grow. PEX’s financing positions the company to pursue that market with a broader payments, credit and automation platform, according to its release.

This story draws on original reporting from PYMNTS.