Parker, a fintech startup co-founded by Yacine Sibous and Milan Ray, has recently emerged from stealth with $157 million in equity and debt funding.
The company offers a corporate credit card designed specifically for e-commerce businesses, with raised limits averaging 10 to 20 times higher than traditional business credit cards like CapitalOne, American Express, and Brex.
Parker’s underwriting process assesses cash flow, allowing e-commerce brands to have credit limits that make sense for their business, up to $10 million in credit, according to CEO Sibous.
Building Better Financial Products for E-commerce Founders
Sibous and Ray founded Parker in 2019, and the company was part of the Y Combinator winter 2019 cohort. The startup’s focus is on the middle market of e-commerce companies doing $3 million to $100 million in annual sales.
Before founding Parker, Sibous and Ray were building internet-based businesses to help people build a passive income when they discovered the financial challenges of e-commerce businesses.
They imagined building better financial products for e-commerce founders with the mission of increasing the number of financially independent people.
Parker’s Secret Sauce: Innovative Payment Terms
Parker’s “secret sauce” is its innovative payment terms that make sense in the context of e-commerce.
The company offers net terms on every transaction, meaning that customers can delay payment for up to 30 or 60 days on each transaction.
Instead of operating on a monthly statement, Parker has the option to work on daily or weekly statements, which helps e-commerce brands with cash flow management, according to Sibous.
Competing in a Crowded Credit Card Space
Sibous believes that Parker has a good opportunity to compete in the crowded credit card space, which includes other venture-backed companies like Moss and Emburse.
Corporate card companies like Brex, American Express, and Ramp have broad reach to startups, but they do not niche down to a certain industry to focus on custom needs like Parker does.
Parker’s revenue comes from interchange and transaction fees, and since its launch, the company has surpassed $300 million in transaction volume.
Solid Runway and Expansion Plans
Parker started raising venture capital after graduating from Y Combinator, and the company is now announcing all of its previously unannounced funding.
The funding will deploy into research and development across product, engineering, and go-to-market as it readies to expand across the country this year.
Parker is also working toward profitability, and the company is working on scaling to access the cheaper cost of capital and upsell other products.
Final Thoughts
Parker, the first charge card for e-commerce, has emerged from stealth with $157 million in equity and debt funding.
The company’s underwriting process assesses cash flow, allowing e-commerce brands to have credit limits that make sense for their business, up to $10 million in credit.
Parker’s innovative payment terms and niche focus on e-commerce make it a strong competitor in the crowded credit card space. The company is working toward profitability and plans to expand across the country this year.
