The round was co-led by Bold Capital Partners and joined by TFX Capital Partners, Techstars Ventures, and First Derivatives. The funding will be used for product development, marketing and sales, and recruitment.

While contactless cards and mobile phones have revolutionised the consumer payments scene, the B2B space is moving far more slowly, with just one on four transactions in the supply chain digitised.

Crowdz is moving into the space with its blockchain-based Invoice Exchange, with a built-in B2B payment gateway that allows companies of all sizes to automatically digitise invoices, speed up invoice-payment collections, accelerate the cash-conversion cycle, and automatically associate orders, invoices, and payments with one another.

Additionally, exchange's proprietary auction platform lets companies submit their invoices for bank or investor financing without filing additional paperwork, finding funders at the lowest possible rates.

Barclays' investment comes after Crowdz took part in the bank's 2018 Accelerator programme, which also led to a partnership with Barclaycard.

Payson Johnston, CEO, Crowdz, says: "Today, small and midsize businesses often have to wait for a financially crushing 90 to 120 days or more to get paid. It's no wonder that more than half of them suffer cash-flow problems during any given year.

"However, with the Crowdz Invoice Exchange, these often struggling companies can get paid within a few days or less-at rates usually far less than available elsewhere in the market."