AdvicePay, a fee payment processing platform, has raised $2m in a seed extension round.
The capital was raised through crowdfunding from within the advisor community. Its decision to collect capital in this manner was to ensure the company remained focused on serving the needs of its core target market of financial advisors, the company said.
Following the close of the round, the company will look to enhance its growth plans, which include the launch of a new enterprise version of its services. This new platform will meet demand frin hybrid independent broker-dealer and large RIA marketplaces.
AdvicePay is a payment processing platform which helps advisors to bill and collect financial advice fees from a client in an automated method. Through the solution, users can establish minimum advice fees, monthly, quarterly, or annual retainer fees, and standalone planning fees.
In addition to payment processing, the company provides e-signature software which helps businesses to ease client onboarding and boost security services.
To ensure data is protected, the company leverages Stripe which is a payment card industry (PCI) certified auditor. All payment requests are sent from AdvicePay through to Stripe through secure tokenisation, meaning no customer data is ever stored directly with AdvicePay. The company also helps to ensure businesses remain compliant with RIA.
AdvicePay co-founder and CEO Alan Moore said, “As the fee-for-service movement in financial planning gains momentum, more and more advisors are working with clients by directly charging for their advice outside of or alongside an asset management fee for portfolio management.
“However, current billing systems from third-party providers are not built to avoid triggering SEC custody and present a number of compliance oversight issues for larger financial institutions that service hundreds or thousands of advisors.”
The company previously raised $500,000 in its initial seed round phase, which was supported by Goodworks Ventures and Front Street Capital. The majority of the proceeds came from unnamed financial advisors.
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