Zepto has had a huge 12-months.
With a successful Series A Raise completed in early 2022, the business has strategically evolved from boot-strapped start-up with about 30 staff, to a well-funded rapidly scaling fintech with operations in Australia and New Zealand, ambitions to launch in the US, and a staff of around 100 Zeptonians.
The company is on a mission to power the movement of value through the economy. Right now that means the dollars and cents of fiat currency, but Zepto's tech is engineered for a future brimming with other digital stores of value. And that's what has investors and awards programs taking notice.
"We are incredibly proud of our regional origins, and are acutely aware of the privilege we have to be creating a world-class technology company on beautiful Bundjalung Country in the Northern Rivers. It is a source of great pride to us," said Zepto CEO, Chris Jewell.
"Drawing inspiration from Byron’s iconic lighthouse, our vision is to be a global beacon of payments lighting the way to smarter, faster ways to pay."
Collecting the Excellence in Innovation award at the Northern Rivers Business Awards in October was a moment of great satisfaction and pride. Business NSW's Business Awards recognise growth, entrepreneurship and celebrate business success right across the state.
"We are blown away about being named NSW Business of the Year for 2022."
Zepto’s founders began their entrepreneurial journey together as merchants operating a Byron Bay skydiving business. Yet simply receiving payments in a timely manner was an enormous perpetual pain-point and strain on cash flow. After navigating the spaghetti mess of fragmented payment offerings they decided they could do a better job themselves.
In effect, Zepto was founded in response to a pretty simple question:
In a modern digital economy, why is it so hard to move funds seamlessly and instantly between customer and merchant bank accounts?
Fast forward a few years and Zepto is now a leading innovator in the global payments landscape, transforming the way businesses and consumers engage through payments.
The team at Zepto is extraordinarily grateful to Business NSW's Regional Director Northern Rivers, Jane Laverty, without whose support, cajoling and encouragement, we might have missed the 2022 Business Awards opportunity altogether. Jane's support for businesses in our region is legendary.
"Special thanks to Business NSW for the event and recognition, to all those businesses who attended and are doing incredible things. And last - but not least - to Jane Laverty for her uncompromising commitment and support for all businesses here in the Northern Rivers NSW.
The Sydney awards gala event was held at The Venue, Alexandria. Finalists from all over New South Wales attended the black-tie do, with the Northern Rivers cohort being particularly vocal throughout the night.
"It was a fabulous venue, and a wonderful event," said Zepto's Events & Community Manager, Leanne Medeiros.
"It was inspiring to hear all of the finalists' success stories. There was a lot of joy in the room after the challenges of the last few years. There are some incredible people doing remarkable things right now," added Leanne.
“A huge congratulations to Zepto, an amazing rise to success exemplifying the spirit of the Northern Rivers with their innovative mindset and courage to drive solutions that make a difference. This team is so well deserving of being recognised as winners in the Business NSW State Awards."
Zepto is embedded at the intersection of real-time payments and data, with a clear view of "what's possible" when it comes to payments. The company is picking up where banks have left off, leading account-to-account payments innovation and - like an icebreaker - has carved a new path for others to safely follow.
#LevelThePayingField
The Point 2022 was a brilliant two-day conference centred on reframing New Zealand's payments future. The program included an incredible line-up of speakers and panelists, and Zepto's Julia Bearzatto was right in the thick of it.
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Since joining as Head of Product in April 2022, Julia has played a critical role in Zepto’s innovative approach to solving merchants’ payment pain points which has led the business to scale rapidly and launch into new markets.
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