Israel-based tech play Way2VAT has received a substantial funding grant to support commercialising its Smart Spend Debit MasterCard, globally the first to fully automate VAT/GST returns.

Aussie-listed fintech Way2VAT (ASX:W2V) has landed a 1.5 million Shekel (~A$625k) funding boost to support research and development for commercialisation of the Smart Spend Debit MasterCard.

Provided by the Israeli Innovation Authority (IIA), the grant will expedite adoption of W2V’s recently launched Smart Spend Debit MasterCard.

The special MasterCard is a world-first in partnership with London-based Railsbank to fully automate VAT/GST returns from end-to-end for the SMB and Enterprise market.

The card uses several fully automated processes based on W2V’s proprietary development in the fields of Artificial Intelligence (AI), computer vision and Natural Language Processing (NLP).

The Company envisages it will soon include behavioural prediction and other advanced analytics and alerts capability.

 

Automate VAT/GST returns

Anyone who has ever had to lodge – or even just compile the receipts necessary to lodge – a VAT/GST return will understand how tedious and time consuming it is.

The Smart Spend Debit MasterCard allows businesses to control spending through Way2VAT’s platform to automate their VAT/GST returns from end-to-end.

Previously the office of the Chief Scientist in Israel’s Ministry of Economy, the IIA is an independent publicly-funded agency and support arm of the Israeli government, that provides R&D and incentive programs to help innovative projects.

The funding grant will support research and development for initial marketing and commercialisation of the Smart Spend Debit MasterCard.

The IIA grant will reimburse costs incurred by W2V on a quarterly basis during the grant term from March 2022 to February 2023, with the first instalment due in July 2022.

W2V recently announced it had secured firm commitments from new and existing institutional and sophisticated institutional investors to raise $1.09 million.

The placement is also being used to accelerate commercialisation of the Smart Spend Debit MasterCard.

 

Important recognition

W2V CEO and Founder Amos Simantov says the grant approval acknowledges both its product platform innovation and capability along with product-market fit.

According to Simantov, the grant was received after an in-depth examination of W2V’s proprietary technology and commercial feasibility.

“The committee was impressed with the card’s ability to allow companies to submit spend receipts and capture invoices through Way2VAT’s proprietary technology platform,” he says.

“It provides an end-to-end process from receipt capture to payment, automatically analyses, reconciles, sorts and submits documentation to foreign tax authorities, and improves compliance, visibility and transparency for all parties.

“The grant will assist us in further advanced product feature development and in managing cash-flow during this initial rollout phase.”

The grant is expected to be repaid to the IAA over the next few years from 2024 as a percentage of royalties from future revenues generated by outputs of W2V’s products based on technology backed by the grant.

W2V can apply for an additional grant in 2023 based on the current approved plan.

 

This article was developed in collaboration with Way2VAT, a Stockhead advertiser at the time of publishing.

This article does not constitute financial product advice. You should consider obtaining independent advice before making any financial decisions.

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