Weavr has announced that it is to shut down its Comma app only seven months after acquiring it.
Comma Payments is a B2B open banking platform which connects to the accounting systems of customers to approve repeat payments.
Its customers – several hundred SMEs – can either find an alternative solution or use the tools in the wider Weavr platform, Comma founder Tom Beckenham (pictured) said.
Most of the Comma workforce, including Beckenham and CTO Gianluca Pengo, joined fellow London FinTech Weavr in the March deal which the firms said created an embeddable payment solution for B2B applications ranging from payroll, accounts payable and other forms of mass payments.
They said customers would be able to progress seamlessly from making payments via their own existing bank accounts to do so through Weavr-provided accounts that offer richer controls and payment options than those given by many banks to small businesses.
When the Comma app is discontinued on 30th November, customers can either find another provider or use the embedded features in the Weavr solution.
“As part of our commitment to embedded finance, Weavr does not deliver any of its financial solutions directly to customers,” wrote Beckenham. “Therefore, we wish to advise of the closure of the Comma app on the 30th November 2023.
“We always believed that payments should be integrated into software, and we have now moved to becoming an API-only solution.
“Unfortunately this move is going to leave a lot of customers disappointed, particularly in the accounting sector. There was a lot of support for the Comma App. It was the first payments app that truly embraced open banking. We did a lot to move forward bulk payments technology.
“None of that is lost. The tech underneath will remain as part of the Weavr.io API offering.
“As sad as I am about this announcement, it’s a choice we had to make. We had to create the right focus so we can empower others to create payment products and features.”
Weavr has 110 staff, of which 15 currently work on the Comma app.
The firm received a $40 million Series A funding round in early 2022 and went on to more than triple its user base.