Fusepay, a Seychelles-founded fintech startup focused on building payment solutions for frontier markets, has officially launched its digital payment platform to help businesses streamline financial operations and transition away from slow, paper-based processes.
The launch follows Fusepay’s successful $350,000 pre-seed funding round in August, led by Hustle Fund, with participation from Everywhere Ventures, First Check Ventures, Startup Istanbul, and angel investor Ryan Nesbitt. This early backing underscores investor confidence in Fusepay’s mission to digitize payments in underserved markets.
Seychelles’ business payment ecosystem has long been dominated by cheques and manual processes, which slow cash flow, increase operational inefficiencies, and expose businesses to fraud risks. In response, the Central Bank of Seychelles is spearheading a nationwide push toward digital financial systems as part of its broader digital governance strategy. Fusepay’s entry aligns with this vision, offering businesses a modern alternative to outdated systems.
Platform Features and Capabilities
Fusepay operates under a Payment Service Provider (PSP) license and is fully approved by the Central Bank of Seychelles. The platform is designed exclusively for businesses—retailers, wholesalers, and billers—and offers:
- Virtual business accounts for streamlined financial management
- Instant transfers for faster cash flow
- Post-dated digital payments to replace paper cheques
- Automated reconciliation for accounting teams
- Fusepay Bridge API, enabling utilities, telecoms, and government agencies to collect payments electronically and issue instant digital receipts
Founded in June 2024 by Vidhyasahar Thiyagarajan (CEO) and Francesco Rocchi (CTO), Fusepay was inspired by the founders’ firsthand experience managing retail and wholesale businesses in Seychelles. Their exposure to manual cheque-based processes informed the design of Fusepay’s core product suite.
Fusepay is targeting high-spending island economies with weak digital payment infrastructure and unique currency challenges. According to Thiyagarajan, the company is eyeing over 20 frontier markets across Africa, Indian Ocean islands, the Caribbean, and the Pacific, representing a total addressable market (TAM) of $25 billion.
Fusepay’s primary revenue stream comes from FuseCheq, its digital replacement for paper cheques used in B2B transactions, earning a 0.6% fee per transaction.
Thiyagarajan emphasized that outdated systems have caused real losses for businesses, including fraud and operational inefficiencies. Fusepay aims to eliminate these risks and plans to expand to Mauritius and the Maldives within 18 months.
Thiyagarajan added:
The time wasted and losses caused by outdated systems are real. Manual processes made employee fraud far too easy, and we’ve seen businesses shut down because of it. Fusepay gives businesses a faster, safer, and more transparent way to operate.
Fusepay reports no direct fintech competitors in Seychelles focused on B2B digital payments. Its main competition comes from legacy internet banking portals and paper cheque systems offered by local banks.
The company is also developing an integrated inventory and order management system to help SMEs streamline operations and reduce reliance on multiple tools for financial and operational management.
Investors see significant potential in Fusepay’s approach. Scott Hartley, co-founder and Managing Partner at Everywhere Ventures, noted:
We identified billions of dollars in business transactions that need to be modernized across the region. Fusepay is addressing a critical gap with a solution tailored for frontier markets.
