Recent data reveals that 92% of SMB merchants, such as newsagents, restaurants, hairdressers, and plumbers have been with the same payment provider for more than a year. It also shows that 66% of merchants don’t know the fees that they are paying to these providers. Reportedly, SMB merchants are often paying 2-3 times the market rate for their payments.
Growth plans ahead
Understanding this, Tuza (formerly Statement), which revolutionises payment processing for small to medium-sized businesses (SMBs), has secured £4 million in a seed funding round led by Connect Ventures, with investment from Northzone, Triple Point, and Entrepreneur First. This round of funding follows the pre-seed funding of £1.5 million in 2023.
With this latest injection of seed funding, Tuza is primed to accelerate its growth, targeting the goal of reaching 100,000 merchants on the platform. This investment will also support the expansion of its talented team, as well as further technical development.
Price comparison website
Founded by Olivia Stannah and Ed Hardy, Tuza’s mission to empower businesses is a zero-cost price comparison website. This tool allows merchants accepting payments in person to find the right provider for them and switch in minutes, a process that currently takes days. This comparison tool can save a convenience store over £5,400 annually by switching them in minutes.
With a focus on transparency and accessibility, Tuza offers a one-stop, zero-cost price comparison service, enabling SMBs to easily compare rates from top payment providers.
Its user-friendly platform enables business owners to easily and quickly assess payment rates from top providers such as Worldpay, Barclaycard, and Revolut, empowering them to make informed decisions and optimise their payment processing costs.
Once businesses upload their most recent merchant statement to Tuza’s online platform, its technology automatically pulls the required information to provide a tailored recommendation for payment providers. Merchants are shown a comparison tool, comparing key metrics that are most important to their business and spending needs such as settlement time, contract length, and monthly charges.
Ed Hardy, CEO and co-founder of Tuza, said: “Our latest round of investment underscores the urgency of our mission. Businesses shouldn’t bear high costs due to a lack of understanding about where or how to find better deals. Our platform provides instant, transparent access to the best solutions for each business. It not only saves time but also introduces a level of pricing fairness previously unseen in the industry.”
Rory Stirling at Connect Ventures said: “Tuza’s transformative approach not only streamlines the complexities of payment processing but also empowers UK businesses with unprecedented transparency and control. Finally, the days of opaque pricing structures and painstaking comparisons are a thing of the past, marking a significant leap forward for the industry. Tuza levels the playing field of payment processing.”
