This week, several Canadian startups have made announcements, launching new features, partnerships, and more. Here’s the latest on Canada’s movers and shakers.
RentMoola partners with Wyse Meter Solutions to power utility payments
Vancouver-based RentMoola, which allows property owners to collect rent through an online platform, has been selected to power credit card payments to Wyse Meter Solutions’ portfolio of sub-metered suites across Canada.
Wyse Meter Solutions provides landlords, property managers, and owners with submetering solutions to help them control their energy costs, while RentMoola allows tenants and owners to pay rent and other payments by credit card, debit card, RM Direct Debit or RM Cash while earning rewards.
“We are pleased to be working with Wyse to power the payments of their customers across Canada,” said Patrick Postrehovsky, CEO of RentMoola. “Next to paying rent, we want to make it easy and seamless for tenants to pay their utility bills online. This partnership allows RentMoola to complement and grow our business in another payment vertical that has traditionally relied on cheques and paper forms of payment.”
In January, RentMoola opened an office in San Francisco, and in March 2016, the company raised $5 million in funding in March 2016.
Payment Rails appoints ex-Google executive as chief revenue officer
Toronto-based Payment Rails, which provides a cloud-based platform for businesses to send payments to any individual or company around the world, has appointed Justin Reid as its chief revenue officer (CRO).
Reid has served in a variety of roles related to enterprise sales, business development, and marketing, most notably at Google, where he was responsible for the financial services practice of Google’s cloud enterprise product in Canada.
“Justin will be at the forefront of Payment Rails’ growth as we continue to scale globally,” said Tim Nixon, CEO of Payment Rails. “His astounding business development background from Google and SAS and extensive knowledge of B2B cloud-based platforms will provide him with a natural understanding of our customers’ needs and priorities.”
Reid first joined the team as a strategic advisor in December 2016, according to his LinkedIn. As CRO, Reid will be responsible for managing sales, growth, and channel partnerships. He will also serve as a member of Payment Rails’ board of directors.
“I’m thrilled to be joining Payment Rails,” said Reid. “I was attracted to this company and its vision for its already existing leadership team with years in the payments industry, in addition to the strong engagement with customers and partners that positions them for continued success.”
Reid will be pitching on behalf of Payment Rails as a finalist at the 2nd Annual FinTech Cup hosted at The Payments Canada Summit this week in Toronto.
ExpertFile partners with the Associated Press to give journalists access to expert directory
Toronto-based ExpertFile has partnered with the Associated Press to give newsrooms and journalists access to ExpertFile’s online directory of subject matter experts.
ExpertFile’s platform allows news organizations and journalists to search for details on upcoming events and discover experts, largely from universities and institutions, who can speak on relevant topics.
ExpertFile and AP’s partnership means that ExpertFile’s search engine and content platform for media will be integrated into AP Planner, AP’s media planning tool. ExpertFile said the integration will allow users — which include print, broadcast, and online journalists — to efficiently find and connect with expert sources.
“There has never been a more critical need for credible sources in journalism today,” said Peter Evans, founder and CEO of ExpertFile. “At the same time, organizations must ensure their experts and content are discoverable and accessible to media. This collaboration allows us to connect newsrooms around the world to fresh, qualified expert sources.”
ExpertFile raised a $1 million seed round in May 2014.
Exact Media launches Connections to help brands and advertisers acquire more customers
Toronto-based Exact Media has announced the launch of Connections, a self-serve marketplace that allows brands and advertisers to run direct mail campaigns through Exact Media’s network of ecommerce retailers.
Exact Media, which is trying to bring traditional product sampling into the ecommerce world, said Connections was developed as a response to increasing requests from brands and advertisers to use Exact Media’s channels to acquire more customers by mailing out products that aren’t easily sampled, such as a box of orange juice, toys, or a meal-prep service.
The company also said that Connections is a cost-effective solution and allows advertisers to have much higher attention rates, compared to services like United States Postal Service and Canada Post, which currently lead in the direct mail industry.
“The interesting thing is that as much as the media talks about digital, direct mail is far from being dead,” the company wrote. “What many people don’t realize is that some of the most sophisticated Fortune 500 companies and high-growth startups use direct mail as a core part of their overall marketing mix. It works.”